Love on the Lifts
by ladys3194
Summary: A snowball unexpectedly pounded hard into the back of my head. Ow! Putting my hand there, I spun around and couldn't believe my eyes. My irksome brother was standing there with none other than Brad Conner and some guy named Kevin Kinkirk.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. This idea is based on the book by: Rachel Hawthorne, so I don't own the story either. This is a Kevin/Lucy fic! Hope you in enjoy. And don't worry I'll be writing more chapters for my other stories like the knock on the door that changed everything and a travelin' soldier! This story is in Lucy Camden's point of view! Thanx for reading!**

**Love on the Lifts. Chapter One**

"A totally hot ski instructor," Leah suddenly announced excitedly. "That's what you need to take your mind off Brad Connor."

"How can a ski instructor be _hot?_" I asked. "He teaches on a snow-covered hill. He's gotta be cold!"

Allie rolled her eyes and Leah gave me a sharp look that told be that she was seriously contemplating throwing the snow in her hand at me.

"That is so lame, Lucy."

Okay, so it _was_ lame, but I was also extremely cold, with visions of curling up in front of a warm fire spinning around in my head. And obviously the chill coming through the knitted cap I'd pulled over my head was causing periodic brain freezes. Even stuffing my shoulder-length, horribly naturally straight blond hair under the cap didn't seem to provide any extra insulation against the frigid air surrounding us.

And it was _soooooooo _cold.After all, we were in a ski resort town with white peaked mountains all around us.

Leah, Allie, and I had flown in earlier that afternoon. My aunt had met us at the airport and driven us to Snow Angel Valley where she had mage arrangements for us to stay in a condo by ourselves. It was totally awesome.

Once we settled into our respective bedrooms, Allie had announced that she wanted to build a snowman. But now that we were actually doing it, the activity seemed as lame as my joke. I mean, really, we were seniors, and a snowman sounded like something you do if you were like two years old-or if you've never been around snow.

Leah and Allie had never been around snow. I saw it at least once a year, usually over winter break when I came to visit my Aunt Julie while my parents went on a cruise down to the Bahamas. Aunt Julie lived in Snow Angel Valley, owed a bookstore-slash-hot chocolate café, and rented condos to the tourists more than she did to the locals. And surprisingly this winter break one of her condos were free.

So she offered to let me stay there instead of in her apartment over her bookstore. Yeah, I know she owns all these nice condos and she lives in an apartment. Go figure. She calls herself a minimalist, preferring a simple life to one "with to many materialistic things, that serve no purpose other than to gather dust." Her words, not mine.

But you gotta love someone who sees dusting and scrubbing as a poor use of one's time.

"I've never seen a headstone inscribed May she rest in peace. She kept a clean house."

Again, her words, not mine. Not that Aunt Julie is a slob or anything. She's not. She's simply doesn't believe in spending time doing things that aren't important to her.

She is absolutely, without a question, one of the coolest people I know. Especially since she told me I could bring a couple of friends with me.

So I did! Leah Locke and Allie Anderson. And I'm Lucy Camden. They joke and say the only reason they let me into there group of alliterating names is because my middle name is Lynn so they say that's close enough. Of course we have more in common then our names.

We attend the same high school, live in the same neighborhood, have the same best friends (each other), and are all presently boyfriendless.

Although I have been crushing on my brother's college roommate Brad Connor ever since Mom, Dad, and I went to the university to visit Matt during family weekend. That's when I met Brad. And oh my gosh, is he a hunk. Tall, dark, and handsome doesn't even begin to describe him and his killer smile-

"Why are we making our snowman round?" Leah asked, interrupting my thoughts about Brad.

Beneath Leah's red cap, she has cropped hair that was brown until she dyed it black as a raven's wing. It gives her sort of a Goth look that gets her a lot of stares when we go out. Or maybe it's her stunningly beautiful violet eyes. Or her pierced eyebrow. Or this dark, mysterious aura going on that doesn't really fit with her bubbly personality. She even designed this mosaic that she plans to have tattooed on her neck the day she turns eighteen. Me, I don't want needles anywhere near my jugular.

"Because that's the way a snow man is supposed to look like." Allie said.

Allie, on the other hand, is the girl-next-door. She'd stuffed her blond hair beneath her pink knitted cap. Her pink coat had fur around the cuffs and collar. She's Barbie-doll petite, which sometimes irritates Leah, since she only has to look at chocolate in order to absorb the calories. Fortunately for me, since I'm a chocoholic, I was born with a high metabolism that burns calories quickly. That sometimes irritates Leah, too.

"How would you know?" Leah asked.

"I've seen pictures." Allie retorted.

The part of Texas where we live has never been visited by a single snowflake, which was the reason they were so into building this snow guy.

Leah picked up a twig. "Let's be creative. Let's make him buff, give him some abs, some guns," "Gins? Are you going to make him a cowboy," I began.

"No." Leah held her arm up at a right angle, closing her into a fist. "Guns. Muscled arms. That's what my brother calls them."

Her younger brother is on the football team and is into working out.

"Guess I don't know about guns, since Sam isn't into the whole being-in-shape thing. He's so incredibly skinny."

"He's not that skinny," Allie said.

"He's not buff either."

"But our snowman should be," Leah said. "Otherwise he's like everyone else's snowman and what fun is that? Come on let's put him on a diet and into a workout program."

She knelt in front of our lopsided snowman. He was really pitiful-looking, listing to the side bit, all lumpy, not at all the way snowmen appeared in drawings that I'd seen in picture books when I was a kid.

"I think we can turn him into a sexy stud," Leah said.

"_You _can turn him into a sexy stud. I'm pretty sure I hear hot chocolate calling to me." Aunt Julie's shop had more than fifty varieties and was only a couple of blocks up the street.

"It won't take me that long. Let me finish before it gets dark. Tomorrow we'll be skiing and I might not be able to get back to him."

"I don't think he's going to melt anytime soon."

"I like to finish what I start."

That was true enough. I'd never known anyone as single-minded as Leak. I couldn't deny my best friend this one small pleasure.

Besides, like I said, she'd never been around snow. I wanted her to enjoy it as much as possible.

"Not a problem. The hot chocolate will wait," I told her, as I sat on the wooden steps that led up to the redwood deck.

So much snow had fallen before we got here that our booted feet sunk into it when we walked over the ground. It covered the deck and the steps. Which was good. You want lots of snow-powder-when you're going skiing.

I stuck my hands into the pockets of my parka and watched as Leah began scraping away some of the snow that we'd worked so hard to gather up for our creation.

She stopped and glanced over her shoulder. "So what do you think about what I said? Let's find you a ski instructor."

There was the single-minded purpose of hers.

Both Leah and Allie, by virtue of being my best friends, knew about my crush. They also knew that he looked through me like I was an open window.

I wrinkled my cold nose. At least I think I wrinkled it. It was frigid, almost numb. "I don't know. I really like Brad. Going after a ski instructor seems a little bit like being unfaithful."

"But he hardly knows you exist," Leah pointed out.

"True, but a ski instructor would be temporary-"

"Which is why he would be so perfect. No long-term commitment. Just short-term fun!"

"I think Leah's idea is fantastic!" Allie exclaimed. "We spent the time while we're here honing our flirtation skills. Then when you tell your brother that each of us was heavily involved with someone over winter break…" "Why would I tell Sam that _all_ of us were involved with someone?"

Looking down, Allie stomped the toe of her white boot against the snow, creating a hole. "I don't know. He might want to know what all of us did. Or you could him about your experiences. My point being" –she lifted her back to mine- "that when Sam tells Brad that you has a guy chasing after you. Brad's interest will skyrocket and he'll be all about getting to know you."

"Do you really think that Sam-not knowing that I have a crush on Brad- is going to tell Brad anything at all about what I do? Guys are not like girls. They talk about dumb stuff, like who is the best NFL quarterback and where they can find a handy poker tournament. They don't figure out how they can get together with someone."

"Maybe you should tell Sam how you feel about his roommate," Allie said. "Maybe he'd invite Brad to come home with him on the weekends."

"Right. Like Sam is going to care. He thinks I'm just his stupid baby sister."

"You think he's your stupid older brother, so it all works out." Leah said, backing up and examining her snowman's abs.

I have to admit he was starting to look pretty good. Not a surprise really. Leah is heavy into art, and sculpting is her thing. That and designing tattoos.

"Because he _is _stupid," I said, responding to her comment about Sam. "He treats me like a kid. Even though he's only a year older than me."

"But he's in college…" Allie began.

"So? I'll be in college next year. Besides, he's always treated me like I'm just a kid. I can't tell him anything personal or important. I especially can't tell him anything like 'I think your roommate is God's gift to girls.' He'd make my life impossible."

"Brad _is _cute," Leah said.

Under the pretense of wanting to record the history of my brother's year at college, I'd asked to take a picture of Sam with his roommate. Unfortunately, the zoom on my digital camera had somehow been pressed-by a renegade finger, I assume-and I'd only been able to get a really good clos0up shot of Brad. No evidence of Sam in sight. Gosh, darn. What a shame!

The photo was now the background wallpaper on my computer desktop.

"His eyes are so incredibly blue. It's like looking into a vast sky." I sighed. "I could look into them all day, all night."

"His whole package is good-looking," Leah said. "Kinda like our snowman now."

I smiled. "He is looking good."

"Are you talking about the snowman or Brad?"

"Both." She'd given the snowman abs, a chest, and upper arms-guns, if you will. Leah tossed aside his rock eyes and his pencil nose-we hadn't had a carrot.

"Who should I make him look like?" Leah asked.

"Lucy's Brad," Allie said.

"He's not my Brad."

"He could be if you'd practice on a ski instructor," Leah said.

"I don't know. It sounds so… tawdry."

"And that's a problem because…"

She left the question hanging, waiting for me to come up with a good excuse. "Look, it doesn't hurt to kiss a few frogs before finally kissing your prince," she added, tired of waiting for me.

"Are you going to flirt with a ski instructor?" I asked.

"You bet."

I looked at Allie. "Are you?"

It was difficult to tell because she was so bundled up but I think she shrugged. "I guess. What can it hurt? Besides, I could use a little romance in my life."

"I think we all can," Leah said. "After all, we'll be here for three whole weeks. We might as well have someone hot to cuddle against and keep us warm."

"All right. I'm game us y'all are," I said. I didn't want to be the only one without someone to snuggle with.

"Great!" Leah pointed her gloved finger at our buff snowman. "Okay, back to the really important issue. Who should I make him look like?"

Leah is like that. Carrying on two or three conversations at once. Sometimes she makes my head spin.

"Well, if Lucy doesn't want it to be Brad, how about Colin Farrell," Allie suggested.

"All right. Let's pack some more snow on his head so I have enough to work with." Leah instructed.

Reaching down I scooped up a handful of snow. I shoved myself to my feet and put my ball on top of his body.

"I've seen some pictures of awesome ice sculptures," I said. "In Alaska or somewhere. Every year they create all the fantastic sculptures."

"I'd love to do something like that," Leah said "Maybe I'll create a garden of snow sculptures while I'm here."

"Well, you have plenty of snow to work with," I said as I glanced off into the distance. The mountains were beautiful, covered in glistening white.

"We'll be on the mountains tomorrow," I told them. "I can't wait."

A snowball unexpectedly pounded hard into the back of my head. "Ow!" Putting my hand there, I spun around and couldn't believe my eyes. My irksome brother was standing there with a cocky grin on his face. "Building a snowman? What are you like, two years old?" he taunted.

I was stunned. My brain wouldn't function no words would come forth. Because standing right beside him, grinning as well was…

Brad Connor.


	2. Chapter 2

Love on the Lifts Chapter 2

"Your one to talk," I finally tossed back at him when my brain kicked into gear. "Throwing snowballs. What are you like one?"

Okay so maybe my brain was still in lock-down mode. It was trying to putter along but it just wasn't warmed up yet.

"Wow, Luce, your comebacks are about as sharp as…well, heck, I guess they aren't all that sharp."

Nothing more humiliating tan having someone point out the obvious, especially in front of someone you like. I glared at Matt. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Aunt Julie invited me and my buds to the condo over winter break."

My mouth dropped open. "Not _this_ condo!" "Yeah, _this_ condo."

"But we're using it."

"We can share. You remember Brad right?"

Since he made a nightly appearance in my dreams and was plastered all over my computer screen at home, yeah, I remembered him.

"Hey, Brad," I said.

He leaned forward, folded his arms on the railing, and gave me a smile that could have melted our snow man, because it was sure melting me. "Hey."

I didn't think I'd ever heard something so incredible. He made it seem so important and I know I was probably grinning like an idiot, but I couldn't help it.

"And this is Kevin Kinkirk," Matt said.

My mother had raised me to be polite. I tore my gaze away from Brad "the hunk" Connor and shot a quick glance at the grinning guy standing on the other side of Matt. "Hi."

"Cool snowman."

"Thanks. Going the nontraditional route was Leah's idea." With my thumbs, I pointed to Leah and Allie on either side of me. "Leah and Allie."

"Hey, Matt," Allie said, sounding a bit breathless. Cold could do that to you. "Brad, Kevin."

The guys muttered there greetings, But Brad's gaze never wandered from me. I was completely okay with having him stay at the condo, but no way did I want Matt around. I would be too self-conscious flirting with Brad while Matt was looking on. Especially since I know Matt would give me a hard time about it once he realized I had a serious interest in Brad. It's just the way Matt was.

Besides, we'd gotten here first and staked out our claim. After all, this area of Colorado used to be mining country, and that was the way it was done. You staked your claim. Let Matt find someplace else to bed down.

I forced my attention back to him. "You can't stay here. There are only three bedrooms, and we've already claimed them."

Matt held up a finger. "There's the main bedroom on this level-"

"I familiar with the bedrooms. We've checked them out and settled in. That one is mine." Although it had a king-sized bed in it, I wasn't about to share it with anyone. Okay not completely true. I could see myself sharing it with Brad, but not if Matt was around.

"-two bedrooms at the level below," Matt continued as though I hadn't spoken, holding up two more fingers like he was talking to a child. "Each has a set of bunk beds. That's five beds." He flashed five fingers. "And the couch. Six people, six places to sleep. We can work it out."

"Matt could sleep in my room if he wanted." Allie said quietly.

"_Please_! He snores and has sticky feet. He can stay with Aunt Julie. She invited him."

"Lucy, this is non-negotiable." Matt liked to throw around words like that, like he was always in charge, just because he's fifteen months older. Another reason I didn't want him around. He thought he was the boss of me. I did not want Brad seeing me as a kid. He'd lose all interest.

"We're staying," Matt continued. 'And it's childish to deny us a bed when they're available."

It was childish. I knew it was and his pointing it out made me seem even more childish. At that moment I hated my brother, but I tried to look on the bright side. Brad hadn't taken his eyes off me or he thought I was having a totally moronic conversation with my brother.

Where was my confidence when I needed it?

"Allie can into my room," Leah said. "I'll even let her chose the upper or lower bunk. That will leave one whole bedroom for the guys to use."

Okay, this could work if Brad took the couch. He'd be upstairs with me while everyone else

"I'll take the couch," Kevin said, and I hoped my face didn't reflect my disappointment.

"Great!" Sam said. "We're all set then. We'll haul in our stuff and leave you girls to finish playing with your snowman."

Matt was still chortling like one of the three stooges as the guys disappeared into the condo. I wanted to kick my brother for his arrogance and fore always making me feel so stupid. Frustrated, I spun around and drove my booted foot into our snowman.

"Hey!" Leah said, slapping at my leg. "Don't destroy my creation just because you want to destroy Matt. Besides, this is great!"

_What?!_

"What's so great about it?"

"_Brad_?" She gave me a pointed look. "Staying with us, sleeping with us, eating with us."

I shook my head. "Not with Matt here, too. You see how he treats me."

"Forget about Matt. Focus on Brad. You wanted him to notice you. This is the perfect opportunity for you to get to know him. And better yet, for him to get to know you. No ski instructor for you, girlfriend. You get to have the real thing!"

"I can't believe you invited Matt. And I can't believe you didn't tell me that you invited him."

Leah might have thought out present situation was great, but I was not yet convinced. Not as long as Matt was in the picture. I'd trudged down the hill to my aunt's bookstore A Novel Place.

"Lucy, sweetie, I couldn't invite you and not invite him, too," Aunt Julie said.

"Sure you could have," I muttered.

"Besides I thought I told you he'd be here." She said, totally ignoring my last statement.

I was sitting on a stool at the hot chocolate counter, sipping some mint chocolate. My mug matched Aunt Julie's. It showed the backs of four cowboys sitting on a fence and below them was written HOT BUNS AND COCOA TO START THE DAY. Like Leah with the snowman, Aunt Julie appreciated the fine shape of a man.

In addition to the hot chocolate counter and the bookstore area, A Novel Place also have a little area in front where people could curl up in plush chairs or loveseats with a book and something warm to drink. It drew in the crowds when it was really cold outside, which was at least half of the year.

A fire was dancing in the corner fireplace nearby, the scent of burning cedar filling the air. The huge window looked out over the town and mountains.

Aunt Julie placed her elbows on the counter and leaned toward me, her long gray braid draped over her shoulder. She's always reminded me of a gypsy, a free spirit, the complete opposite of my dad even though they were siblings. She has dark blue eyes like mine and in her youth, her hair had been the same shade of blonde as mine.

While working in the store, she dressed in flowing clothes so the exact shape of her seemed a mystery. That was how I always thought of her a mystery.

She lived in Snow Angel Valley winter months when business was brisk. But in summer when weren't many tourists she closed down everything and traveled the world, going to…well, going to _novel_ places.

I hadn't been sure if she'd named her shop A Novel Place because it was a place where novels were kept of if the name referred to the places she'd visited and the photos she's hung on the walls. There were framed pictures of herself with Sherpas at the bottom of Mount Everest, penguins in Antarctica, kangaroos in Australia too many photos to list them all. My aunt had set foot on all seven continents and swam in all the oceans. She wanted to travel on the space shuttle someday.

She was an adventurer and I loved her dearly. When I'd once asked her what the name of the shop applied to she's said, "A Novel Place means many things on many different levels. It's a state of mind."

Thoughts too heavy for me to figure out. But I loved her anyway. Even thought I was presently majorly ticked off at her.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" she asked. "You're not upset because your brother is here. There's more to it than sharing space with Matt, since you've done that most of your life. So let's get to the root of the problem so we can address it and you can have a good time while you're here."

She knew me too well. And I knew I could trust her with anything.

"It's Brad," I admitted reluctantly.

"Matt's roommate?"

Scrunching up my face, my nose mo longer numb thanks to the hot mist of chocolate tickling it while I drank, I nodded dejectedly.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked.

"That's the problem. There's nothing wrong with him."

"I see," she said, drawing out the last word like she wanted to savor it. "He _is_ a cutie."

I've never known Aunt Julie to think any guy _wasn't_ a cutie. Not even the ancient hunched-over village mailman who looked like he'd been born around the time the mountains were carved by glaciers.

"When did you see Brad?" I asked, turning my thoughts back to my immediate concern and impending nightmare.

"Sam and his friends stopped by to pick up a key to the condo. I thought Kevin was cute, too."

"Kevin?"

"His other friend?"

Oh, yeah. The sandy blond haired guy who had been standing on the balcony smiling. Was he cute? I couldn't really draw an impression of him from my memory except for the smile. It was pretty dazzling as I recalled, but nothing at all like Brad's. Brad was the hottie of the group, hands down. No competition there whatsoever. And like I said, Aunt Julie thought every guy was cute, so I'd really have to take another gander at Kevin to properly assess his cuteness factor. "Oh, yeah, right," I mumbled. "Kevin."

"So Brad is the one for you, huh?"

I nodded again.

"Well, then. This is the perfect opportunity for him to get to know you better."

"But if Matt notices that I'm crushing on his roommate, he with tease me unmercifully and he'll do it right in front of Brad. I know he will. It'll be a major turnoff for Brad. Matt will ruin everything. And I like Brad so much."

"Why?"

I stared at her. "You've seen him."

"Yep. Like I said he's a cutie. And I've talked to him, and he's nice. But I need more than cute and nice to give a guy my heart."

"What else do you need?"

She winked, before turning to a customer, and tossing over shoulder back at me, "that's what _you_ have to figure out."


	3. Chapter 3

Love on the Lifts Chapter 3

"Okay, we need to talk house rules," I announced.

Matt was lounging on the couch, Brad and Kevin were sitting in the recliners, all were watching a football game.

"Later, Lucy, we're busy," Matt said, never taking his eyes of the game.

I walked over to the TV and turned it off. That got an immediate reaction. Matt bolted upright, his feet hitting the floor with a thud.

"Hey! Brady was about to throw a pass!"

Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. I'll admit he was cute enough to get my attention, but I'd never tell my brother that. Or that I knew most of his quarterback stats.

"I'll turn the TV" I began.

Matt picked up the remote, clicked a button, and the echo of screaming fans filled the room.

"Matt!"

"Later, Lucy. You made us miss the touchdown. Now move your butt so I can see the game."

"Hey, man," relax."

This from Kevin, who'd out the footrest down on his recliner and was now sitting up as well.

"She wasn't expecting us to invade her space, so let her give us the rules."

Kevin didn't seem at all bothered by the glower Matt threw at him. Then Matt looked over at Brad

Brad shrugged. "Whatever, dude."

Matt leaned back and stretched his arm across the back of the couch, like some emperor giving his subjects an audience or something.

"Okay then, let's discuss the rules."

Could he get more irritating?

"Mute the TV," I ordered.

To my surprise he clicked the remote again and the TV fell silent. No arguments from him. Thank goodness. Allie and Leah came to stand beside me, the three of us forming a united front. I looked down at my yellow legal pad. We'd held an impromptu meeting in my bedroom to discuss our demands, so we'd be prepared when facing the guys.

Allie didn't see the need for rules. She trusted Matt and his friends to be good roomies. But I knew Matt a lot better than she did and Leah had two brothers so Leah and I knew a little more about living with guys than Allie did, since she only had one sister. We definitely needed rules.

"Rule number one: Toilet seats are to be placed in the down position before exiting the bathroom."

Matt rolled his eyes and groaned. "Lucy"

"It's non-negotiable."

I heard a snicker of laughter from Kevin. Matt looked over at him. Kevin was shaking his head, grinning. He did have a cute smile.

"Hey, man, I've got three sisters," Kevin said to Sam. "You're not going to win this one."

"Fine, Lucy, you can have your rule." Matt snapped his fingers impatiently at me. "What else?"

I felt a surge of triumph. Gosh, it felt good. I seldom won an argument with Matt. I looked back at my list. "Rule number two: the girls will cook if the guys will clean."

"Sure, I've got no problem washing my hands before I eat. I'm civilized."

Honestly, my brother was totally clueless sometimes.

"Not clean your hands, stupid. The kitchen. We want you to clean the kitchen, the pots, the pans, the counters. We spend time cooking; you spend time cleaning, fair trade.

Matt looked at Brad, who was nodding. Kevin, too. Matt looked back at me. "How many meals will you cook?"

"We'll fix breakfast and dinner. For lunch we'll be on the slopes so we'll fend for ourselves."

"There's a dishwasher in there, right?"

"Yes, but you have to rinse the food off before you put the dished in it."

Matt nodded. "Like I said, I'm not totally uncivilized. What else?"

I didn't quite trust the ease with which he capitulated, but decided to trust him for now.

"We meaning Allie, Leah, and I get the TV for two hours every night, the exact times be decided by us."

"No way! We're in the middle of the playoffs!"

"Exactly. Which is the reason we want some TV time."

"Nope, ain't gonna happen. It's non-negotiable."

"It's football! As long as you see the end of the game, why do you have to see the beginning? The end is when it gets exciting. That's what you really want to see."

"And what is it you want to watch, Lucy? Some girly"

"_Lost_, for starters."

"I'm down with that," Kevin said, "I'm hooked on that show."

I shot a quick look over at Kevin. He was still smiling, an unexpected ally in this war.

"It's childish to hog the TV, Matt," I said. "And selfish."

Matt narrowed his eyes at me. He didn't like having his words tossed back at him. Too bad. He shouldn't have thrown a snowball earlier. I still owed him for that and was already plotting my revenge. I planned to get him where it would hurt him he most.

"Okay, you can have your two hours, but it can't be during the last hour of the game."

I looked at Allie and Leah. They both nodded. I turned my attention back to Matt. "Okay."

Matt sighed. "Next."

I looked at my list, looked back up. "That's it."

Okay." Matt gave me a familiar grin. I knew it too well. It said I was in trouble.

"The _guys'_ rules. No girly things hanging in the bathroom to dry. The guys get the bathrooms first in the morning because we're fast and efficient. If you want to hitch a ride with us to the slopes, you have to be ready to leave when we are. We're not waiting for you. When the guys are watching football, the girls can't be in here taking"

"Whoa! There's this room, the kitchen, and our bedrooms. You can't not share this room with us."

"She's right, dude," Brad said. "I don't mind having babes around. I mean I like football, but I like having babes around more, you know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, but one of those babes isn't your sister," Matt said.

Brad winked at me, while talking to Matt. "All the better, dude."

My heart did this little somersaulting flutter inside my chest. Had Leah and Aunt Julie been right? Was this the perfect opportunity to have Brad fall for me as much as I'd already fallen for him? Had I misjudged the Matt factor?

I was almost giddy as I turned my attention back to Matt, ready to be more than magnanimous. "What other rules do you have?"

"That's it."

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. That had gone a little easier than I'd expected.

"I'll add your rules to ours, then we can all sign"

"Lucy, we don't have to sign anything. We've agreed to the rules. Now move away from the TV. That Pats are back in scoring positions."

"You're from Texas. You're supposed to like the Cowboys or the Texans."

"I like anyone who's good. And the rule is you don't talk when we're watching football, so" he made a zipping motion across his mouth "go."

"I still think we should sign"

"We're not signing. It's non-negotiable."

"If he doesn't follow a rule, I'll kick his butt." Kevin said, smiling warmly.

I couldn't figure out what color his eyes were. Where they brown or green? A light blue?

"Yeah, Mr. Law and Order over here will make sure all rules are followed," Matt said "Now, Lucy, please get out of the way before I haul you to the deck and toss you into the snow."

"I'd like to see you try was all I heard in my head, but since Brad was sitting there, I didn't give actual voice to my words. That, too, was a disadvantage to having Matt around. I'd have to fight my natural inclination to constantly argue with him. Who wanted a shrew for a girlfriend? Plus I didn't want to appear childish again. I took a deep breath. "Only because you said please."

With my shoulder squared, I walked away from the TV with Allie and Leah following behind me.

We'd won. Sorta.

"Did you see the way Brad looked at you?" Leah asked. "Too cool!"

We'd retreated to my bedroom. As soon as the door was closed, I'd done the happy dance around the room before plopping on the quilt-covered king-sized sleigh bed. This was totally romantic, and I was feeling very romanced in a subtle kind of way.

"Did you see Brad wink?" I asked. "He actually winked at me. Have you ever seen anything so sexy?"

"It was defiantly hot," Allie said. "And directed entirely at you. It was like Leah and I weren't even there. He wants you around, Lucy. That's so great, especially since it's incredibly obvious that Matt _doesn't _want us around."

"My brother can be such a jerk. Is it any wonder that he can't get a girlfriend?"

"He's not that bad," Leah said. "You should try living with my brothers sometime."

"No thanks."

"Honestly, guys, I don't think it's that Matt doesn't want us around," Leah said. "It's like Kevin said. We weren't expecting them; they might not have been expecting us either. So we make the best of the situation."

"You're right," Allie said. "And the best of the situation is that Brad has a definite interest in Lucy."

"The best part is that the guys will clean the kitchen," Leah said, grinning. "I hate cleaning the kitchen."

"Who doesn't?" I asked. Maybe my mom. Nah, I was pretty sure she hated it, too.

"Speaking of the guys," Leah said, "I gotta confess, Kevin is to die for. The way he looked at you, Lucy, while you were reading off the demands so intense. Like he was really listening, really cared. And the way he took our side was totally awesome. My brothers would walk on glass barefoot before they'd side with me on anything."

"He surprised me, jumping to or defense the way he did," I admitted. "You're welcome to him." Grimacing, I looked over at Allie. "But if we pair up, me with Brad, Leah with Kevin, that would leave you with Matt. I wouldn't foist my brother off on my worst enemy. I guess we better not try to pair up."

"No, way!" Leah said. "Operation Get-Brad-Together-With-Lucy is officially underway. Allie and I can take turns with the other two, so there's no obvious paring, except for you and Brad."

"But if you're interested in Kevin…" Allie's voice trailed off.

"I'm not interested in him as a potential winter break boyfriend or anything," Leah said. "I just think he's cute. Our real goal here is to get Brad with Lucy. And if Allie and I have to play guy-tag for that to happen, so be it. No, hardship."

I nibbled on my bottom lip, trying not to get too excited about the prospect that I might actually end my winter break with boyfriend of my dreams.

"Are you guys sure you don't mind?"

"We're sure," Allie and Leah said at the same time.

"You guys are the absolute best."

"Of course we are," Leah said. "So what are we gonna cook for supper tonight?"

I groaned. "Right. I know Aunt Julie loaded the fridge and pantry for us, so there is bound to be something we can whip together, there's also a crock pot. We could fill it with something before we leave for the slope din the morning. Let it simmer all day so it's ready when we get home."

"You mean like a stew?" Allie asked.

"Yeah. Or chili. We don't have to get fancy. Just so there's plenty of it and it's hot."

My cell phone began to chirp. I hopped off the bed, grabbed the backpack I'd left by the dresser earlier after I'd settled in, dug out my cell phone, and immediately recognized the number.

"Hey, Aunt Julie. Were you calling to make sure we had survivors over here?"

She laughed. "This could be a reality show. A brother and sister snowed in together. How long can they survive?"

"No, thanks."

"But you did get everything worked out?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Good. Since you're all still alive and friends"

"I wouldn't go that far."

She laughed again. My aunt had a really fun laugh. Boisterous, like she enjoyed life. Which she did.

"How about we all get together for dinner tonight? My treat," she said.

Saved from cooking! "That would be great. Where did you have in mind?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Love on the Lifts Chapter 4**

Pile It On Pizza was where we all ended up. Like every other restaurant in Snow Angel Valley, it was quaint with its own unique atmosphere. Very rustic, it looked like the inside of a log cabin. We picked the size crust we wanted, and then we walked down the long length of the counter pointing to all the ingredients we wanted.

We ended up ordering two pizzas because the guys made a big production of moaning and groaning when Allie pointed to the green olives. My brother was always a meat and potatoes sort of guy. I guess the others were as well.

They went with pepperoni, sausage, hamburger, and Canadian bacon. Aunt Julie, Allie, Leah, and I chose mushrooms, green olives, black olives, and more mushrooms. Pile It On Pizza was true to its name. The guy at the counter piled it on until we told him to stop. Then into the oven it went.

We took to pitchers of root beer to a long wooden table. Allie, Leah and even Aunt Julie, jockeyed for chairs at the tale until miraculously Brad ended up by me. Aunt Julie at the end of the table, with Kevin beside her, then Leah and Matt, with Allie sitting across from Matt. It couldn't have worked out better, except for, of course, Allie being stuck at the end of the table with Matt.

I glanced down the table and saw Matt was actually being polite, smiling, and talking with her. That was something I didn't see quite often Matt being pleasant. Of course I also didn't see him with my friends to often. He usually avoided us like the plague.

"It's supposed to snow again tonight," Aunt Julie said. "Fresh powder will make your ski experience so much better."

"Do you ski?" Kevin asked.

Aunt Julie smiled. "Not as much as I used to. I fancy ski boarding these days and snowmobiling."

"A lot of people think snowmobiles are bad for the environment," I said. "The exhaust pollutes the wilderness and the noise disturbs the wildlife."

"True. But how are you supposed to enjoy the wildlife if you don't disturb it a bit. A once you get deep into the woods, away from the town and turn off the engine, it's so…humbling."

"Humbling?" Brad asked.

I loved the deep rumble of his voice. It just sort of went through and I couldn't help but think how wonderful it would be for him to whisper in my ear.

"It's incredibly quiet," Aunt Julie said. "A snow-hushed world. You can almost hear the snowflakes fall."

Brad drew his heavy, dark brows together. "Snowflakes make noise?"

"She's being poetic," Kevin said. "Not literal."

Brad shrugged, reached for the pitcher, and poured himself some more root beer. HE nudged his shoulder against mine.

"Want some?"

"Yeah." I held out my mug, smiled when he smiled at me. We were, like, so totally bonding.

When he finished pouring, he set the pitcher down, took a sip of root beer, and focused his intense gaze on me. "What do you do for fun?" he asked.

And suddenly we weren't at a table with a large group of people anymore. It was just Brad and me. We'd moved from a wink to a nudge to a discussion, but his interest was going to disappear if I didn't think of something exciting to share.

"I like to read mysteries."

"Read."

He repeated the word like I'd just said I enjoyed stepping in dog poop.

I nodded, trying not to reveal that I was rattled that we didn't share an interest in reading and that he might be ranking me pretty high on the boring-ometer scale.

"I also meditate," I offered.

"What? Like yoga?"

"Yeah. Focusing on my breathing, the center of my being. I can teach you how."

He gave me this really wicked grin that set my heart racing. "I know how to breathe." He leaned closer and I could smell whatever cologne he used. It was sharp and tangy. "And I know the center of my being."

"Of course you do." Think, Lucy, think. Now is the time to be clever and witty.

Our numbers were called. Aunt Julie pointed to the guys. "You guys go grab the pizzas and two more pitchers of root beer."

As soon as they were far enough away not to notice, I tapped the heel of my hands against my forehead. "I am so lame!"

Reaching out, Aunt Julie rubbed my shoulder. "Lucy, sweetie, relax."

"I can't think of anything interesting to say after y'all went through so much trouble to make sure he was sitting beside me."

"It wasn't any trouble, Lucy," Leah said. "Besides, Matt is entertaining us."

Great. My brother was an entertainer and I was a sleeping pill. "Just be yourself, Luce," Aunt Julie said.

"Right. Right."

Awhile after the boys returned with the pizzas, I turned towards Brad and asked, "What do you do for fun?" He chewed, swallowed. "Drive fast, kiss babes, ski."

Okay, I so didn't want to get into a discussion about him kissing babes, even though before winter break was over that I would end up being one that he'd kissed. So I went for something safe.

"You know how to ski?"

"Yeah, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah. I just thought maybe you were like Allie and Leah. That's why _they_ were building snowman." I didn't want him to see me as a kid, the way Matt did.

"I've done some skiing," he reassured me. "I'm not planning to spend much time on the bunny slope."

The bunny slope was for beginners. Pretty much a simple short incline where you learned to keep your balance and bring yourself to a stop.

"I haven't hung out on the bunny slope in ages," I said.

"Cool, maybe we can"

"Excuse me. Julie? I thought that was you."

The women interrupted our conversation, not so much because of her loud voice, but because Brad was starring past be like he had just seen a Dallas Cowboy's cheerleader, waving her pom-poms in his face. The woman was tall, wearing stretch leggings and a big red bulky sweater. Even though it was thick, you could tell that she filled it out a whole lot better than I did mine. Her blonde hair was cascading in glorious waves around her shoulders instead of in tight curls like mine.

"Hey everyone, this is Cynthia," Aunt Julie announced, like we all should care when I defiantly did not. "She's staying in the condo next to yours. This is my niece, Lucy, my nephew, Matt, and their friends."

"It's great to meet you all," Cynthia said a little to breathlessly, her voice having a little squeal to it, like she was trying really hard to sound sexy but she came across sounding like a cat whose tail whose tail had just been stepped on.

She leaned down closer to Aunt Julie. "I'm sorry to bother you, Julie, but when I saw you sitting over here I thought I might as well tale advantage of the opportunity to speak to you. I'm having trouble getting my garage disposal to work. I was hoping you could send a maintenance guy over first thing tomorrow.

Before Aunt Julie could even open her mouth, Brad piped in with, "I can look at it tonight. I'm good with my hands."

Cynthia smiled. "I'll just bet you are. Are you shouldn't you wouldn't mind?"

"Hell, no"

"I hate to disturb your evening."

"No problem."

He came out of his chair with so much force that I was surprised he didn't start an avalanche. Cynthia wound her arm around his and snuggled up against him.

"Lead the way, Cynthia," Brad said this really goofy, stupid smile on his face.

As they were walking away, I heard Cynthia say, "My friends call me Cyn. I have a feeling you're about to become one of my friends."

"I wonder if she spells that S-I-N," I muttered.

I wanted to stick my finger down my throat a gag. Brad had been talking to me, had been on the verge if asking me to do something with him. It wasn't fair that someone else had come along and lured him away so effortlessly.

I turned my attention back to the pizza, my appetite gone. To make things even more unbearable, I discovered Kevin watching me. He had a funny look on his face. Sympathy, maybe, like he knew I had a serious crush on Brad. And worse, he recognized that guy just stomped on my heart.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 Love on the Lifts**

I couldn't sleep. My mind kept replaying my stupid banter or lack thereof during dinner, and the quickness with which Brad had forgotten I existed. The reality hurt.

And what made it even worse, was that he hadn't returned home by the time everyone trudged off to bed at eleven, after watching another football game. It was now midnight and I was starting to worry about him. If I went out on the deck I would get a good, clear view of Cynthia's house. If the lights were still on they were awake. I really, really wanted them to be awake. I didn't want to contemplate that he was sleeping over there, sleeping with her. He had just met her; I couldn't lose him completely, that quickly. There had to be other reasons that he hadn't come home.

But for all I knew Brad was out there somewhere freezing to death. Unlikely, but it could happen. What if he had been knocking and no one had heard him? Kevin could be a sound sleeper or a loud snorer. I should have let Kevin have the bed tonight, and I should have taken the couch so I could keep a vigil for Brad.

After all, how long could it take to fix a garbage disposal? He could have built her a freaking new one by now. With his teeth.

I got out of bed, grabbed my thick blue, fleece robe that I always brought with me to Snow Angel Valley, drew it tightly around me, tied the sash, and slipped into my fuzzy slippers. Gingerly, as quietly as possible, I opened my door and peered out.

All the lights were off, but the TV was on and a fire was blazing in the gas fire place. Gas wasn't as romantic as the real log fireplace that Aunt Julie had in her store, but it wasn't much work either. Flip a switch and we had a fire. No messing with kindling and setting logs up just right.

I walked out of my bedroom and down the four steps into the sunken part of the living room.

Wearing sweatpants and a T-shirt, his arms folded across his chest, Kevin was sitting on the couch, his bare feet resting on the coffee table. My first thought was that they had to be cold. My next thought was that he had large feet. But then most guys did.

He must have heard me approach because he looked over his shoulder. "Sorry, is the TV to loud?"

"No, I just…" I pulled hard on my sash and looked toward the front door, hoping Brad would walk through it at any second. I was at a loss for words, wondering what excuse I could give Kevin to explain why I wanted to step out onto the deck at midnight.

"He's not back yet," Kevin said.

Maybe no excuse was needed. I turned my attention back to Kevin, who was looking at me with the same intensity he had at Pile It On Pizza.

"I don't know how he'll get in. He doesn't have a key, but I guess you'll hear him when he knocks," I said quietly, so my panic and worry about Brad wouldn't echo between us.

"Yeah, I'll hear him if he knocks. Maybe I'll let him in."

I raised my eyebrows. "Maybe?"

He shrugged. "Thought he was rude, almost knocking his chair over in his hurry to be with the snow bunny."

I stared at him, "You didn't like her?"

He jerked his head back in revulsion at the thought and scrunched up his brow. "_Please_."

I don't know why I took his response as an invitation, but I did. Maybe because it reflected my opinion on "Cyn." It made us _compadres, _in sync, buddies. I lowered myself to the couch. "Why don't you like her?"

"I'm so sorry to bother you…" He did a perfect imitation of her breathless delivery that made me want to laugh. "Give me a break," he said. "If she really was sorry, she wouldn't have walked over to begin with. A broken disposal isn't exactly an emergency.

I found it comforting that I wasn't the only one less than impressed with our neighbor, and I didn't think he expected me to answer. I moved back into the couch and brought up my feet to the cushion. My legs weren't nearly as long as Kevin's, so I couldn't stretch them out far enough to rest my feet on the coffee table.

"What are you watching?" I asked, deciding I could keep a lookout for Brad here as easily as I could from the deck.

"_Law and Order_ rerun. I think they're on twenty-four-seven these days."

I snuggled down more deeply in the cushions. "I love _Law and Order_, except for the fact that there are not enough cute guys on the show."

"What are you talking about? Lennie was cute."

I could tell from his grin that he was teasing, but still I felt obliged to defend my position. "Too old. Still, it was sad when Jerry Orbach died."

"Yeah, I was sorry to hear that. I really liked the way he ended each intro with some wise-crack." He shook his head. "That Lennie."

"I was hoping when he left the show that they'd replace him with some really young sexy detective. I mean, it's not fair. Jack's assistants are young, sexy women."

"The show isn't about eye candy. It's got good writing. That's the real star of the show."

"So you'd be okay if the next time they replaced Jack's assistant, she wore orthopedic shoes and her grey hair in a bun?"

"Hey, let's not get carried away here. Don't need to eliminate the sweets completely…and maybe you have a point about not enough cute guys."

I drew my legs closer to my body, wrapped my arms around them, and placed my chin on my knees. I liked the way Kevin never tried to bully me into anything, the way he'd helped keep things calm earlier when I'd presented my list of rules.

"Is that the reason Matt called you Mr. Law and Order? Because you like this show?"

"Nah, he calls me that because I'm majoring in criminal law."

"Are you going to be a lawyer?"

"No, I'm thinking more along the lines of FBI maybe CIA."

"Wow, that's pretty ambitious."

"Well, don't be too impressed. I still have three and a half years to go. A lot can happen between now and then. I gotta get all the basic coursework out of the way.

I could see him working for the FBI or CIA. He didn't have the overwhelming presence that Brad did, but there was something about him that made me feel safe, comfortable. He treated me like an equal, like someone whose opinion he valued, like I was interesting.

"Matt's never talked about you before. How did you meet him?"

"We live in the same dorm. My room is across the hall from him."

"I didn't see you when I was there for family weekend."

"I know."

Something about the way he said it…

"Did you see me?" I asked.

"Yeah." As though suddenly embarrassed, he looked at the TV, pointed to the screen. "Angie Harmon; my favorite."

It was strange. Sitting here in the dark with the dancing firelight and the flickering images from the TV washing over him, it occurred to me that he might be better looking than Brad. Not in the same rugged way that Brad was, of course. Brad was well, Brad looked tough. Strong. Kevin looked…well he looked tough, too, but in a nicer kind of way. I wasn't making sense, couldn't sort out my thoughts.

But I discovered I enjoyed watching him.

"What color are your eyes?" I asked.

He jerked his head around so fast that I thought I heard his neck pop.

"What?"

"Your eyes. I noticed them earlier, but I couldn't figure out what color they are."

I could make out his grin in the shadows.

"Depends on what I'm wearing. If it's blue, my eyes look blue. If I'm wearing green, they look green. Brown, brown." He rocked his head from side to side. "The official color on my driver's license is hazel." He turned back towards the screen. "Your eyes are one clear-cut color," he said. "Blue."

"You noticed, huh?"

He studied me for a heartbeat before turning his attention back to the show once more. "Yeah."

There it was again. Disappointment…or embarrassment. But that made no sense. We were talking eye color for goodness' sake.

Kevin had a well-defined jaw that sported a day's growth of beard. I guess he would use my bathroom in the morning to shave. That seemed intimate. There was a bathroom downstairs between the two bedrooms, but the bathroom up here had a door that led into my bedroom.

So, yeah, he'd probably use my bathroom first thing. I needed to make sure I had the leading to my bedroom closed.

I twisted around and looked at the front door. I heard Kevin sigh like he was irritated with me or something.

"What if he tripped coming over here and he's out there freezing to death?" I asked. "I've heard that you don't even know that you're dying because you start to get warm and drowsy. You just think you're going to sleep."

"Trust me he's not out there freezing to death."

"How do you know?"

He gave me a sideways glance. "I just know."

I pooped off the couch. "Well I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

He looked at me, studying me again, like he was searching for something. "Don't let Matt get to you. It's a guy's job to torment his sisters."

"It doesn't sound like you torment your sisters," I said.

"I _always_ leave the toilet seat up."

"Then why did you agree to the rule?"

"Maybe I like you more than I like my sisters."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 Love on the Lifts**

The next morning, while I took my shower, I tried really hard not to think about two things:

I never heard Brad come home,

Kevin's parting words before I returned to my room last night.

And sometimes I found myself thinking harder and longer about Kevin's words than about Brad's failure to return from next door. I was pretty sure that Kevin's comment had been innocent with no innuendo, but then I'd think about the fact that he seemed embarrassed to have noticed me when I didn't notice him. Gosh, had he been in the dorm hallway? Had I looked right at him and not noticed him or remembered him?

Geez, what an insult to him if that was the case. But he wasn't forgettable, so maybe he'd seen me from a distance while I was walking with Matt and my parents across campus or something.

And he liked me more than he liked his sisters because that's just the way guys were. I mean, honestly, Matt liked Allie and Leah more than he liked me. He'd talked to them almost nonstop at the Pile It On, and he_ never_ talked to me that much. So Kevin's was just a typical male statement. It didn't mean anything.

I had myself convinced that's the way it was by the time I walked into the living room, dressed in jeans a sweater. The drapes were drawn, so the room was in shadows.

I peered over at the couch. Kevin was sprawled on it, a quilt draped over him, a pillow beneath his head, his b are feet hanging of one end. I resisted the urge to tug the quilt down and cover those feet. They had to be cold, and he had to be uncomfortable. It didn't seem fair that he'd have to sleep there for three weeks. Maybe the guys would rotate sharing the beds.

But that was their problem. I wasn't giving up my bed. Not even for a guy who liked me more than he liked his sisters.

I crept into the kitchen and turned on the light. I walked to the sink, reached over it, and opened the blinds. Through the window, I could see Cynthia's condo. I realized that I could have just come in here last night and kept an eye out instead of trying to get to the deck. Not that I still wouldn't have has to walk by Kevin, but I could have made the excuse of needing a glass of water. Coming up with a reason for wanting to go out to the deck at midnight had proven a bit of a problem not that I'd have gotten far enough to an excuse. Besides, Kevin had pretty much guessed my intentions. I had a feeling that he wasn't quite as clueless as Matt.

I went to the refrigerator and took out a carton of eggs and a package of bacon. I would start cooking breakfast. I needed to focus on anything except the real reason that Brad hadn't returned home last night the very real possibility that he'd slept with Cynthia. So who was clueless now?

I set everything on the counter and took a couple on pans out of the cabinet. Brad wasn't my boyfriend, so he has the right to do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted. But I didn't like the idea that he might have. And if he had, then should I give up _us_ completely?

Only there were no _us_, not really. So the question was, did I want an _us_ with Brad if he had slept with "Cyn"?

"You broke the rules."

With a tiny screech, I spun around. Kevin was lounging in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest, his biceps clearly visible. In the light of the kitchen I could read the T-shirt that I'd been unable to read the night before in the dark. It read, THESE GUNS DON'T COME WITH SAFETIES.

Ah, man! He had and amazing set of guns, which were also more visible in the light. He defiantly worked out.

"What?" I snapped. If I'd said more than one word, I would have stammered. He had me totally rattled. Did Brad's arms look that strong? I crazily wondered what it might feel like to be held in Kevin's arms, to lok into those hazel eyes at close range.

"According to the rules, the guys are supposed to shower first," Kevin said. "I wonder what punishment I should administer to you."

His gaze slowly roamed over me, stealing my breath as it went.

"Punishment?" I squeaked.

"It was decided yesterday that I would be the enforcer of the rules."

"Only for Matt."

"You sure?"

I nodded jerkily. "Besides, I didn't know anyone was already up."

And actually he hadn't been when I'd walked by.

"No big deal, Freckles."

"Why'd you call me that?"

"I don't know. Maybe because you remind me of Kate on _Lost_."

That was a major compliment. Kate was strong and confident, repeatedly kicking guys' butts. I hardly ever did that. I thought about telling him, but what the heck. Let him have his fantasy.

"Who's your favorite character on the show?" he asked.

I took a moment to respond to his change in direction.

"I liked Jack in the beginning, but Sawyer really grew on me."

"Yeah, I've always heard girls go for the bad boys. I guess that's the reason Brad has such a following."

I had a vision of Brad surrounded by maniacal, screaming women. I hoped Kevin wasn't putting me in that category. It was insulting.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean wherever we go, girls are attracted to him. Like the snow bunny last night."

The reminder of our neighbor and my failure to hold Brad's attention hurt. "I didn't hear him come in."

"I'm not surprised."

"So he was really quiet when he came home?" I was pitiful. My voice sounded so hopeful and fearful at the same time. Like I was putting off facing the truth Brad had done more than fix a stupid garbage disposal.

Kevin just shook his head.

"May he knocked"

"I left the door unlocked."

As if on cue, I heard the front door open. My stomach tightened and my heart started pounding.

"Hey, Kevin!" It was Brad. I'd recognize his voice anywhere and the way it shimmered through me. "Good news, man. Cyn is going to hang out on the slopes with us today."

His good news was my bad news.

Brad came around the corner, into the kitchen, and stopped short at the sight of me. I figured I probably looked the way our snowman would come summer: melting, melting, melting. Why couldn't he be as excited about as he was about Cynthia?

He gave me a broad grin that for the span of a heartbeat offered me hope that maybe…

"Hey, Allie."

And the hope was gone, buried beneath an avalanche of disappointment. He was never going to get together with me. He didn't even remember my freaking name!

"She's Lucy," Kevin said quietly.

Brad shook a figure at me like I was the one who got my name wrong. "That's right. Lucy is the sister, Allie is the friend. Matt talked about them so much on the drive here, I got them confused. No big deal. I'm off to take a shower. I'll catch you guys later.

I stood there mute and devastated. Matt talked about me and Allie? Why would he do that? Why did I care? It was probably all bad. My brother must have turned him against me, revealing the most embarrassing moments of my childhood.

"Hey, Lucy, don't let him get to you. He's not good with names." Kevin's voice held pity and he was so wrong. Brad didn't have any trouble at all remembering Cyn.

I hated Kevin at that moment. He knew, _knew_ I liked Brad. I was wearing my heart on my sleeve. Something Aunt Julie always said, but I'd never really understood what it meant until now. It meant everyone except stupid, dumb Brad knew that I liked him.

I sprung into action and started to walk past Kevin. He grabbed my arm. "Lucy"

"I have to go."

"Where are you going?"

"To Aunt Julie's for our meditation session."

He gave me a grin like he thought that was all I needed to make my world right again. "Thought that girls were supposed to make breakfast."

I had to get out of there. Pronto. The last think I wanted him to see were the tears burning the back of my eyes as they moved to the front and rolled onto my cheeks. "Later."

I sounded like I was choking on those very tears. I broke away from his hold and grabbed my jacket from the coat rack by the door. I was stiffing my arms into the sleeves when I heard Matt announce, "Hey, Lucy, I want my eggs over easy and my bacon crisp."

I hadn't seen him come into the living room, but I wasn't going to look back at him. He'd know something was wrong. Or maybe he wouldn't. Like I said, he was pretty clueless most of the time.

"Leave her alone, Matt," Kevin said.

I was on the front porch, zipping my jacket, the door slammed shut behind me before Matt could say something else equally stupid. My brother was such an idiot.

Then I was running, running hard, down the hill, toward the village, toward Aunt Julie's, toward a haven away from the embarrassment I'd just suffered.

Kevin knew what I felt for Brad. I'd seen in it in his hazel eyes.

And he knew what Brad felt for me.

Absolutely nothing.

"Clear your mind and focus on your breathing, Lucy," Aunt Julie said. "Release the negative energy."

I was sitting on an exercise mat on the carpeted floor in Aunt Julie's apartment, my back straight, my hands limp in my lap, my eyes closed.

In a panic I'd arrived at her apartment above the bookstore and pounded on her door. When she opened it, I'd rushed in and burst into tears. Not so much because Brad had broken my heart. He hadn't. Not really. I mean, to break something you have to touch it, right? And he hadn't touched my heart yet.

I was simply majorly embarrassed that Kevin had witnessed my humiliation, and it had occurred to me during my mad dash over to Aunt Julie's that Matt might know what was going on as well. The last person, other than Kevin, I wanted to know the affairs of my heart.

"Focus, Luce," Aunt Julie commanded in a soft sing-song voice. "Feel the air filling and expanding your lungs. Now release…release…release…"

That was how meditation worked. You concentrated on you breathing, focused all you energy there

"There's no place like home. There's no place like home. There's no place…" Aunt Julie's voice trailed off.

Once focus was pinpointed on your breathing, you began running your own personal mantra through your head. Something that

Guided you, brought pleasant memories. Something that would take you to the next state of being. For Aunt Julie, it was _The Wizard of Oz_. Go figure.

That morning, mine was something that would bring me a great deal of satisfaction: Break a leg. Break a leg.

I was directing it toward Cynthia, which really isn't how meditation works. It's not like voodoo or something, where you try to throw a curse on someone, and, okay, it was a mean thought that I didn't really want to come true. And it wasn't exactly releasing negative energy….

"I can't think of anything, Aunt Julie," I finally said.

"Then use mine."

Only I couldn't. I didn't wasn't images of the good witch of the north who looked too much like Cynthia or a crazy wizard who could be my brother. Or perfect Dorothy holding perfect Toto. I bet Brad wouldn't have forgotten her name.

I opened my eyes and stretched out on the floor, inhaled the sweet fragrance of the candles burning around us.

I was breathing in a tangy and spicy scent. Brad.

No, it wasn't Brad. It was Kevin. Last night when we were sitting together on the couch. He didn't smell at all like Brad. Lemony was a better description. Lemony with hair mussed and his feet bare. And the way he smiled whenever he looked at me. Not a big hey-am-I-a-stud-or-what smile Brad gave me, but more of an I-like-looking-at-you smile. Like the smile was a gift to me or something. My presence was a gift to him.

Where did that thought come from?

"I see you finally relaxed," Aunt Julie said.

She had her arms lifted high over her head and was stretching at the waist from side to side. For women with gray hair, she was awfully limber.

"Not really. I was just thinking." I shrugged, which was a strange feeling with my back on the floor. "Nothing important."

"Everything's important."

I knew Aunt Julie dated. Over the years, she's introduced me to several guys. They were always good-looking and fun. She never took her trips alone, but I never had a sense that she was totally serious about any of the guys.

"Why didn't you ever get married?"

"I almost did once," she said. A dreamy expression came over her face. "Loved him something fierce."

"So why didn't you marry him?"

"It just wasn't meant to be."

She rose to her feet, and I sat up. "You can't just leave it like that without giving me a real answer."

"Sure I can." She laughed and walked into the kitchen. A bar with stools separated it from the living room, so I could still see and hear her clearly. "Besides, the history of my love life isn't going to help you figure out yours. And isn't that the reason you're here this morning?"

"I'm here because we always meditate together," I lied.

"When you're staying with me, sure. But you're not going to traipse over here every morning, are you?"

Didn't anyone want me around?

"Would it bother you if I did?"

"Of course not. But I figured you'd want to spend time with your friends. Isn't that the reason you brought them?"

Without answering her, I got up and walked over to the bar and sat on a stool. I watched as Aunt Julie prepared her morning shake. She put all kinds of healthy stuff in it. Whey protein, fruit…

"I thought I'd help you in the bookstore today."

She turned away from the blender and gave me a pointed stare. "That's what you thought, huh?"

"Yeah." I scrunched up my face. I knew what her expression meant. Honesty time. "I didn't want to see Brad with Cynthia."

"So you're going to hide away?"

"Just today."

"Mmm-uh," she said, like she could see through my lie, and knew I was considering never again returning to the slopes. "I think you're making a big mistake, but it's your life."

She pushed the button on the blender, the buzzing stopping us from talking further. Which was fine by me.

I didn't have anything else to say, anyway.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 Love on the Lifts**

Allie and Leah were totally bummed when I called and told them that aunt Julie needed help in her shop, so I was going to forego skiing. I tried to make it sound like I was making a big sacrifice for Aunt Julie, instead of what was really going on. I simply couldn't stand the thought of seeing Brad with Cynthia, or Kevin looking at me like he thought I was total loser for not hiding my feelings any better than I did.

"But what about Operation Hook-Brad-Up-With-Lucy?" Leah asked.

"Please tell me that you're in your bedroom where the guys can't hear you." Using my cell phone, I'd called _her_ cell phone, so for all I knew she was sitting at the breakfast table surrounded by everyone.

"I'm outside making a snow girl for our snowman. He was getting lonely. Allie's helping me."

"And the guys?"

"Following the rules, cleaning the kitchen. You missed a great breakfast. Did you know Allie knows how to make omelets? The guys were majorly impressed."

So was I. "I had no idea. I had breakfast with Aunt Julie." The energy shake. An omelet sure sounded good, though.

"Okay, great, we won't worry about you not eating then. But what about Operation"

"Not today, Leah. Aunt Julie really needs me to help her and I figure it's the least I can do since she's letting us use the condo." I looked behind me to make sure my jeans weren't on fire yet from all the lying.

"Well, we should help, too, then."

"No, she just needs one person. Not too much room behind the counter. We'd just get in each other's way."

"Are you sure? I feel guilty going to the slopes without you. Allie's nodding. She feels guilty, too."

"Look, I've skied before, so I don't need lessons. Y'all take the class today and learn the basics. Tomorrow we'll be able to ski on the slopes together."

"I guess you're right. Besides, you don't need to hook up with a ski instructor, since Brad is here. As for me, I may need more than one day of lessons."

"You won't. It just takes a few hours to learn the basics. Trust me."

"We'll see. Oops! Matt came out on the deck to give us the we're-leaving-right-now signal, so we've gotta run. But I promise Allie and I will stop by the shop this afternoon for some hot chocolate, after we leave the slopes."

"Sounds like a plan. Y'all have fun."

I closed my cell phone and took a deep breath. I figured a day to regain my equilibrium was all I needed. A day to completely sever my one-sided bond with Brad. Tomorrow I would defiantly go to the slopes, and I'd find him.

Unlike Leah and Allie, who were planning to grab hot chocolate _after_ a day of skiing, a lot of people wanted the hot chocolate swirling through their system before they headed for the slopes. So for a while that morning, it was a madhouse, and I was rethinking my plan to avoid the guys.

My feet started to ache as I worked behind the counter, mixing one mug of hot chocolate after another.

Once things started to slow down, I browsed through the bookstore looking for a good read, I always found some sort of treasure whenever I looked through the shelves. Aunt Julie was a voracious reader, so she and I always spent a lot of time over our winter breaks reading and discussing books. Or at least we had in the past. With Allie and Leah here, not to mention Matt and his friends, I didn't know how much time I'd have for actual reading. Especially if I did find a ski instructor.

"We just got in a new one from the Fingerprint series," Paige said.

I looked over my shoulder at Aunt Julie's assistant manager, Paige Turner. She swore that was her real name, but I didn't believe her. I mean honestly, what were the odds of someone with a name like that working in a bookstore?

"Thanks." I took the paperback book she was offering me.

"I think Julie lives for these winter breaks when you come to see her," Paige said. She had blonde hair that reminded me of Cynthia's, but her attitude was so different. Plus she talked and breathed like a normal person. I couldn't help but like Paige. She wasn't that much older than me, having gone straight from high school to the bookstore a few years back. Or at least that was her story. I had another theory on how she's ended up here.

"I'm sure someone who had scaled Mount Everest lives for spending time with me," I said, smiling.

"Hey, she really does. You're her favorite niece."

I laughed. "I'm her _only_ niece."

"Well then, aren't you special?"

I felt my smile grow. It was one of the reasons I loved being there: I always ended up feeling good about myself. "Why, yes, I am."

"So why are you hanging around here instead of on the slopes with a cute ski instructor?"

"What is it with everyone trying to set me up with a ski instructor?" I asked.

Her blue eyes widened. "I didn't know everyone was."

"Pretty much, yeah."

"I guess because they're usually a lot of fun. Some of us are getting together at the lodge tonight. You and your friends should join us. I'll even take time to point out the available instructors to you."

"Thanks. I'll let my friends know."

"Be sure you bring that cutie that was with your brother yesterday."

"Hate to disappoint you, but I think he's already taken."

"Bummer! That happened fast."

"Yeah." It sure did.

She shook her head in wonder. "She who hesitates, I guess. I should have made my move yesterday."

Great. She liked Brad, too. Still, I couldn't dislike her because of it. She wasn't at all like Cynthia. If I told her I had an interest in a guy, she would back off. I didn't think Cynthia knew the meaning of the phrase.

"What about Matt's other friend? The one with the dark hair?" Paige asked.

I stared at her, trying to decipher her meaning. "Wait a minute. When you said to bring the cutie…weren't you talking about the one with the dark hair?"

"Heck, no. I was talking about the blonde. What was his name? Cory? Kenny?"

"Kevin."

She flashed a smile that would do a game-show hostess proud. "Fight, Kevin. Is he the one who's no longer available?"

"Uh, no. Brad is the one."

"Well, that's great!" She wiggled her brows and patted my shoulder. "Be sure and bring Kevin. We'll swap: friend for ski instructor."

That sounded fair. Even though I didn't know how Kevin might feel about it. Still, I found myself nodding. "Okay."

"I can't wait!" Paige said.

"Me, either."

Paige went back to placing the new shipment of books on the shelves. So she preferred Kevin over Brad.

Wasn't that interesting? It looked like all the guys were going to end up matched with someone. Well, all except Matt. I truly couldn't imagine anyone wanting to purposely hook up with my irritating brother.

By mid-afternoon, I was almost ready to admit that Aunt Julie had been right. I was bored out of my mind! Skiing on the slopes would have probable been way more fun. I was really wondering what happened to everyone.

Had Allie and Leah finished their lessons? Had they flirted with an instructor? Has Cynthia broken a leg? Had Brad? Either scenario might be satisfying.

Or I could simply not care. Why invest my time wondering what Brad was doing? He didn't know who I was. So I'd just forget who he was. It sounded like a plan to me!

By late afternoon I was totally over him. It wasn't going to bother me to see him with Cynthia. I'd moved beyond him.

Looking out the window, I saw a group trudging up the boardwalk, bundled in ski jackets, and I figured they were going to be stopping by for some hot chocolate. We usually had an afternoon rush as people began leaving the slopes, heading home for the day. I set aside my book and went behind the counter to await their arrival.

And I found myself wishing I'd looked at them a little more closely as they'd approached. Then I would have realized that sneaking out the back door was the way to go, because when they came inside, laughing and happy, Brad's arm slung around Cynthia, I realized that I hadn't gotten over Brad.

I wasn't even close to getting over him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 Love on the Lifts**

**First of all thank you for all your reviews. I luv them! Please keep them comin'!**

"Hey, Lucy, we missed you," Leah said, as she sat on a stool at the counter.

"We were so busy today; I hardly had time to think. I don't know what Aunt Julie would have done if I hadn't been here to help out. It was complete chaos." I was babbling. "What can I get you guys?" Another lie, maybe?

Everyone lined up on the stools at the counter: Cynthia, Brad, Matt, Allie, Leah, Kevin.

I really felt like the odd one out, standing on the other side. My own fault entirely. Avoidance. You can't be part of the crowd if you're not _with_ the crowd.

Cynthia ordered Guilty Pleasure why was I not surprised? Everyone else just wanted plain old hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows sprinkled on top.

"Hey, gang, how'd it go?" aunt Julie asked as she stepped out of her back office. She spent a good deal of time in there working up her supply orders and going over spreadsheets on her computer.

Everyone started talking at once.

"Awesome!" Allie.

"The cutest ski instructor." Leah.

"Went down Devil's Peak." Matt.

"Such fun!" Cynthia.

"He was so incredibly hot." Leah again about the ski instructor.

"What a rush!" Brad.

But I didn't think he was referring to the ski instructor. Like I said, everyone was talking at once.

Aunt Julie was laughing. Kevin wasn't saying anything, just sipping on his hot chocolate watching me, like he was patiently waiting for the moment when I reached across the counter, wrapped my hands around Cynthia's throat, and strangled her.

"I have some good news to share," I said when the exclamations died down. "Paige invited us to a party at the lodge tonight."

My announcement received another set of exclamations.

"Awesome!"

"What's the lodge?"

"A hangout."

"Totally cool!"

"Oh, gosh, I absolutely adore parties. I need to get home so I can start getting ready." Cynthia's announcement caused silence to fall as she slid off the stool.

"I'll go with you," Brad said.

Could he get any more pathetic? I watched him traipse out the door after her like a dog trailing a bone.

"You managed to beat the crowd," Aunt Julie told the others. She laid a hand on my shoulder. "Why don't you take a break before it gets really busy in here? I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on."

"Sounds good to me."

I directed the others to grab their mugs and join me near the fire. Only Allie and Leah took me up on the offer, which was cool. I was only being polite when I invited the remaining guys. I didn't really want them there; because I knew Allie and Leah wouldn't tell me as much if we had an audience. So it was okay by me that they stayed at the counter and talked with Aunt Julie.

"How was it really?" I asked after we sat down.

"Totally awesome," Allie said. "I thought my heart was going to stop when I watched Matt for down Devil's Peak. But he is such a great skier. Not at all afraid."

"You watched him?" I asked, surprised anyone would want to. I mean, this was my brother we were talking about here. Not some hottie hunk.

"I ended up there because we went on the ski lift together. I'd never been on a ski lift before so he offered to show me how it works. My heart was pounding so hard when I realized that the lift kept moving and that we were supposed to get off it by skiing. I don't think I could have done it if he hadn't held my arm. After he skied down the slope, he took the lift back up and we rode it down together."

"Sounds like a regular Prince charming."

"He was," she said, her cheeks turning red. "And I liked watching him ski. He's really good. I was impressed. I'll never be able to ski down a trail like that."

"Sure you will," I said.

"Today I didn't actually ski on anything other than the bunny slope, but at least I graduated from ski class." She jerked her thumb at Leah. "Klutz over here has to take the class again tomorrow."

Leah wiggled her eyebrows, not at all offended. "You bet. Ian is such a hottie. He's Australian and has the most delicious accent. I adore it. He promised to give me private lessons if I don't do any better tomorrow." She forward and whispered, "I won't do any better tomorrow."

"He's that hot, huh?"

"His presence melts snow."

I laughed. "I've got to see this guy."

"Just remember that I had first dibs on him."

I watched the marshmallows bobbing in my hot chocolate. "I guess Brad hung around with Cynthia all day."

"Like silver of metal against a magnet."

I grimaced. "She's too old for him. She's gotta be like, I don't know, twenty-four."

"At least," Leah said.

I wondered what Brad really saw in her, other than her tight pants and too-small sweaters.

"Whenever she talks, she sounds like she's on the verge of hyperventilating," Allie said.

I laughed. "She does take heavy breathing to the extreme."

"You wouldn't have liked seeing the way she sat on Brad's lap in your brother's SUV, practicing for tomorrow when you'd be with us And there wouldn't be enough seats."

"Great," I mumbled.

My parents had given Matt the SUV when he'd graduated from high school. It gave him freedom that I didn't yet have. He and his buds had been able to drive up while my friends and I had flown.

Of course, we'd left from different destinations as well. Allie, Leah, and me from home, the guys from college. The university was about six hours from where we lived, so I completely understood Matt not wanting to come and get me, even if he hadn't known I'd be there. Besides, I wouldn't have wanted to be in a vehicle with him for fifteen hours, anyway. Fifteen minutes with him was a stretch of my patience.

"I think I'm just going to have to give up on Brad," I muttered.

"Maybe not," Leah said, "What's Cynthia got that you don't?"

"Lots of curves." I wasn't totally flat, but my chest resembled hills, while Cynthia's looked more like the Grad Tetons. And my hips didn't exactly flare out, not that I wanted them to.

"Look, we're going to that party tonight," Leah said. "We'll all look our best, and before the night is over, maybe Brad will come around to noticing that you have a lot more to offer personality-wise than Cynthia. And you don't have any trouble talking and breathing at the same time."

"I doubt he'll notice me."

"Don't be such a negative Nancy," Leah said. I rolled my eyes. "Have you been talking to my Aunt Julie?" Aunt Julie had all kinds of quaint descriptions: Sad Sally, Happy Hannah.

"Leah grinned. "Come on. So Brad spent the day with Cynthia"

"Let's not forget that he also spent the night with her."

"Probably because he didn't have a key and a way to get in. Give him a reason to want to be with you tonight."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Hey, you girls walking, or riding back to the condo with me?" Matt asked.

Allie popped off the loveseat. "Riding."

Leah got up, too. "How long are you gonna work?" "I'll help with late afternoon rush and then I'll be back at the condo."

"Okay, we'll see you later."

I heard a footstep and turned my head to see Kevin standing there. I hadn't realized he was still hanging around. I should have. I mean, I hadn't seen him leave, but he just wasn't my radar. Not totally true. He was on my radar; I just preferred that he not be. After all, he's witnessed on of my more humiliation moments.

He held up a paper bag that looked like if contained a book. "I was browsing. Looks like I got left behind."

"Yeah, Matt already left with Leah and Allie."

"That's all right. What's a little walk after trudging up a mountain all day?" He sat down on the loveseat across from mine. "Think you'll go with us tomorrow?"

"Probably. How did you enjoy the lessons?"

"Didn't take any. I know how to ski."

I felt myself blush. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"No reason you would know."

"So you're not as mesmerized by all this as Allie and Leah are? No building snowmen for you?"

"Sure, I build snowmen, and make snow angels. It's the magic of snow. It's gotta be done."

"You don't agree with Matt that playing in snow is just for kids?"

"The way I play in snow isn't for kids. Maybe I'll show you sometime."

Those hazel wyes of his unexpectedly darkened, and I thought maybe he was thinking about things that would warm up a girl. Dangerous things.

Now where did that thought come from? Brad was the danger; not Kevin. Or at least I didn't think the danger was Kevin. But the way my heart was thudding against my chest. I suddenly wasn't so sure.

"Have you ever been to Snow Angel Valley before?" I asked, wanting to change the subject.

"No but I'll be sure to come back. It's beautiful country. I love being around mountains. I grew up on the Texas coast! Flat as a pancake."

I hadn't known that, either, but then we really hadn't talked except for last night while I was making my pitiful; attempt not to look like I was waiting for Brad.

"Where did you learn to ski?"

"Wyoming, New Mexico, other parts of Colorado. My folks would take us every year." He shook his head from side to side as though contemplating how much to tell me, how much I might really be interested. He gave a little nod like he'd made a decision. "I prefer rock climbing and mountain climbing, though."

"You and Aunt Julie should talk. She scaled Everest."

"We did talk. She's a fascination lady."

"She's defiantly that."

"Do you have ant interest in mountain climbing?"

"I like to hike snowy trails through the mountains, but it's not the same thing."

"No it's not. When we were walking through town, I noticed that a little theater is showing _Touching the Void_. Have you seen it?"

I remembered hearing something about the movie. The Last Buck Theater which did, in fact, have stuffed deer standing outside the entrance and only charged a dollar.

"Wasn't that a documentary about those two English guys who almost died on a mountain?" I asked.

"Yeah, one had to cut the other guy's rope when he was dangling over a crevasse. It's really incredible that either of them survived." He hesitated. "Don't suppose you'd want to go see it?"

"What? The movie?"

"Yeah."

"Sure. Why not? Maybe tomorrow night, since we have the party tonight. I'll check with Allie and Leah and see if they're up for it."

He pressed his lips together into this funny shape like he was trying to stop himself from saying something.

"Right, He finally said. "Yeah, let's see if everyone wants to go."

Oh, gosh, sometimes I'm as clueless as my brother.

"You weren't asking me out on a sate, were you?"

"Heck, no. I just wanted to see the movie and thought it might be fun to not see it alone. The more the merrier." He stood and tapped the bag against his leg. "So I guess"

Whatever he was going to say was lost as a crowd of people came through the door. Snow angel Valley's version of the rush hour traffic had just descended upon us.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9-Love on the Lifts**

Kevin surprised the heck out of me by not heading out the door as soon as it was clear of customers stampeding inside. Instead he shucked off his ski jacket, hung it in the corner, shoved up the sleeves on his sweatshirt, revealing his amazing forearms, and said, "Tell me what to do."

The task that required the least amount of instruction, was taking orders. So I gave him a pad and a pencil and sent him off to take peoples orders. Aunt Julie and Paige joined us.

I was mixing chocolate with warm milk Aunt Julie's secret ingredient. Real whole milk, which was a total surprise from someone who thought nothing of tossing freshly, squeezed asparagus juice into her morning shake. I'd have thought she's go with skim milk, but nope whole all the way. And she defiantly doesn't believe in using those hot chocolate mixes that require water.

"Hot chocolate should be sinful, and I don't believe in sinning in half measures," Her words, not mine.

So I stood at the back of the counter adding two scoops of chocolate powder and eight ounces of whole milk warmed on a burner, not in a microwave.

Kevin grabbed the mugs and took them to the appropriate customers. Clockwork. We were in complete sync. I was so amazed!

During one brief lull, he leaned over to me and whispered, "I meant to ask you earlier. Paige Turner? That can't be her real name."

I peered over my shoulder at Paige before looking back at Kevin and shaking my head. "No, my theory is that she's in the witness protection program. Maybe she got to pick her own name and said, 'I want to be Paige Turner working in a bookstore at a small ski resort.'"

Kevin chuckled. "I guess that's a better explanation than having parents with a wicked sense of humor.

"It's only wicked if they knew she was going to work at a bookstore."

"Good point." He grabbed the mug of Delightful Decadence and walked away. No, it wasn't it a walk. It was more of a swagger, brimming with confidence.

And confident was surely what he was. He'd never worked here before, but the customers couldn't tell from looking at him. He smiled and chatted and took their orders as though he'd been doing it all his life.

I was impressed. He was really quite charming, and I thought his ability to fit in would probably serve him well if he did ever go to work for the FBI or the CIA. Watch out, bad guys. Kevin would have their number, charming them into confessing their illegal activities.

Twilight had arrived by the time the crowd diminished enough so that Kevin and I could leave.

"Don't forget about the party," Paige called out as Kevin and I were walking out the door.

I waved back at her. "We won't. See you soon.

"Both of you!"

I looked back at her and gave her a thumbs-up sign. When Kevin and I were on the sidewalk, walking up the hill toward the condo, I said, "Paige has the hots for you."

Kevin stopped walking. I stopped as and looked at him.

"You're kidding."

I shook my head and smiled. "Nope. She told me."

I wasn't sure if he was blushing or if it was the cold breeze chapping his cheeks.

"Maybe I'll skip the party."

"Why?"

"You think I want to get involved with someone who is in the witness protection program?"

I laughed. "That's just my theory. Besides, if you get close to her, maybe you can learn the truth about her name."

"What's it worth to you?"

I stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"For me to go undercover, to get the information you want."

I rolled my eyes and gave him an impatient look. "Don't do it for me. Do it for yourself because you're interested in her."

"Only I'm not. So I guess we'll never lean the truth about her past."

He started walking again and I fell into step beside him.

"How can you not be interested in her?"

"How can you be interested in Brad?"

Okay, I wasn't expecting that. Now I was the one to stop walking, my heart pounding hard enough to start an avalanche. Kevin stopped as well, turned slowly, an eyebrow raised as though he actually expected me to answer his nosy question. I won't even go into why his question was nosy and mine wasn't, but it had something to do with my heart being involved.

"My interest are none of you business," I finally managed through the lump of emotion that had settled in my throat.

"And my lack of interest in Paige is none of yours."

"You don't have to get so touchy. I wasn't trying to butt into your business. I just thought you might want to know that someone thinks you're hot."

"Well, I don't need you doing any matchmaking for me. I happen to be very interested in someone else around here."

"Then you should have asked her to the movie."

"I did."

"And she said no?"

Sighing, he shook his head. "Forget it."

He started trudging up the hill again.

I hurried after him. "Did you meet her on the slopes?"

"None of your business."

"Does Matt know about her?"

"None of your business."

"If you point her out tomorrow I'll put in a good word for you."

"I don't need you putting a good word in for me."

He was walking so fast that I was having a difficult time keeping up. He really was in good shape. He had to do aerobic workouts on addition to the weights or whatever it was he did to keep those firm muscles.

"Oh, wait, maybe she'll be at the party tonight," I said. Wouldn't that be interesting? I wondered if I needed to warm Paige so she wouldn't get her heart broken.

"She will be," Kevin said.

"How do you know?"

"I just know."

You sure 'just know' a lot of stuff."

"Yep."

"Maybe you can make a move on her at the party."

"I doubt it."

"Why?"

"She's not interested in me."

"How can she not be interested?"

He spun around. I came up short, almost barreling into him.

"You tell me," he demanded.

"Tell you what?"

"How she cannot be interested? Or better yet, why would she be interested?"

"You're nice."

He grimaced. "So is my grandmother."

"You're hardly a grandmother. Dress up tonight. That's what I'm doing. Then pour on the charm."

"That's your plan for the night? To pour on the charm?"

I heaved a sigh. "I'm going to try." Make a last ditch effort to win Brad over.

Kevin slowly shook his head. "You don't have to try, Lucy. Or dress up. You're terrific the way you are."

I couldn't believe I was going to say this, but it wasn't as though I was revealing anything he didn't already know. "Then why doesn't Brad notice me?"

"He's an idiot."

I barked out a bit of laughter. "So is the girl you met on the slopes."

"I didn't say that I met her on the slopes."

"Then where did you meet her?"

"How come I can't get it through your head none of your business!" He reached down grabbed a handful of snow, and tossed it at me.

"Hey!"

I rushed past him. Felt snow hit my back. Without stopping, I reached down and scooped up my own handful, packed it together as I ran into the front yard of the condo, then spun around

And went flying as Kevin tackled me to the snow-laden ground. When I tried to gather up snow to toss at him, he grabbed my wrists and held them in place beside my head. He was heavy on top of me, straddling me, but it didn't hurt.

His face was so close to mine that I got a real good look at the color hazel. I was intrigued by the color and the way he was studying me.

"Don't try to hook me up with anyone, Lucy," he finally said.

I nodded slowly, my breath not having found me yet. "Okay."

We stayed there, just staring at each other. I was barely aware of the cold beneath me, because I was more aware of the guy on top of me.

"Are you going to let me up?" I eventually asked.

"Is there going to be dancing at that party tonight?"

Where did that question come from? I shrugged as much as I was able. "I don't know."

"Will you dance with me if there is?"

"Sure."

He grinned. "Then I'll let you up."

But he stayed there, smiling and looking at me, until he finally shook his head and muttered, "Brad really is an idiot."

Then he rolled off me, got to his feet, and pulled me to mine. As we walked up the steps to the condo, I couldn't help wondering if maybe I was an idiot as well.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10-Love on the Lifts**

"Hot dogs?" Matt asked. "That's your idea of cooking a meal? Hot dogs?"

We were sitting at the dining room table. I glowered at Matt. "We're short on time because we have a party to get ready for. Besides, there's bound to be food there. Consider this a snack."

"I love hot dogs," Brad said. He'd come back from Cynthia's shortly after we got ho9me.

"Absolutely." I smiled at Matt. "So there."

What are we going to have tomorrow?"

"We were thinking stew," Allie said.

Sam looked over at her, and I thought she was actually blushing.

"We could put all the ingredients in the crock pot before we leave in the morning, and they'd simmer all day. If you like stew," she said.

"Yeah, I like stew," he said.

"Since when?" I asked.

He glared at me. "It's got meat and potatoes in it, doesn't it?"

"And vegetables."

"I can pick them out."

"We don't have to put vegetables in there," Allie said.

"Yeah, we do," I said. "Otherwise, it'll be boring."

"Maybe we should take a vote," she said.

"I don't think we want our menus determined by a committee."

"Lucy's right," Leah said. "There's always going to be something that someone doesn't like."

Allie shrugged. "I just wanted to be fair."

"Whatever y'all cook will be fine," Matt said, looking at Allie again.

Whoa! Was this my brother talking?

He looked over at me. "Except for hot dogs."

"Whatever. Like I said, we were short on time."

"Just make sure you fix a lot of whatever it is, because we'll be hungry after skiing all day."

"We'll take care of it, Matt."

"Speaking of taking care of things, your aunt sure is taking good care of us," Leah said. "The pantry, the freezer, they're full of food. I don't think we'll have to do much shopping while we're here."

"She likes taking care of us," I told her.

"She's always been like that," matt confirmed. "I think because the first time Mom and Dad left us here, Lucy cried the entire time."

"I didn't cry the _entire_ time," I said. "Besides, I was six."

"Remember the year we sneaked down to the store after she'd gone to sleep and ate all the marshmallows?"

Nodding, I laughed. "I was what? Eight?"

"Yeah. I've never been so sick in my life."

"I couldn't stand the sight of a marshmallow for the longest time," I admitted.

"Good times," Matt said. "We've had lots of good times here. And more to come, starting tonight."

I shoved back my chair, stood, and grinned at him. "Not until after you clean up."

"What do you think?" I asked. "Is this too much?"

Allie, Leah, and I were all in my bedroom getting ready for the party. We'd decided that was the best way to do it. We'd hog one bathroom and let the guys get ready downstairs.

Leah smiled. "You look great!"

I was wearing a blue cowl-necked sweater. The sleeves hugged my arms and went down to my knuckles. I loved the way they covered my hands, leaving only my fingers visible. The sweater itself wasn't too bulky, so my figure wasn't hidden away. I was wearing jeans. It was absolutely to cold to wear a skirt. There wasn't a lot of parking in the heart of the village, so it was impossible to know how far we might have to walk.

Leah and Allie agreed with my assessment of wearing a skirt. They were in jeans, too. And sweaters. Leah wore a red turtleneck sweater, and Allie wore a pick one with fluffy while fur at the collar. Leah with her short, dark hair looked mysterious; Allie with her blonde hair draped around her shoulders looked delicate.

I was somewhere in the middle, not too mysterious, not too delicate. The three of us could be a bedtime story.

I'd applied a hot iron to my hair to try to straighten out some of the natural curl. And I'd used some light blue shadow to highlight my eyes.

"I don't look like I'm trolling for guys, do I?" I asked, a little unsure about the makeup, worried that it was a bit too much.

"You mean like Cynthia nest door?"

I grimaced. "Yeah."

"You've got to fight fire with fire," Leah said.

"So I look like a slut?"

"No," my friends both said assured me at the same time.

"You look life you want guys to notice you," Leah said. "But we all do, right? That's the whole point of going to a party. To hook up with guys."

"Right."

"And tonight is all about getting you with Brad."

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Was it?

"Right?" Allie asked, as though reading my mind.

"Right."

"So what's up with you and Kevin?" she asked.

"Why would you think there was anything?" I picked up my brush and started dragging it through my hair. It created static electricity, causing the strands to start flying around my head like Medusa's snakes. I should have left well enough alone.

"Maybe the fact that you came in with him before supper and you were both laughing and breathless."

"Laughing leaves you breathless."

"Your cheeks were flushed."

"They were cold. Besides, I told you. He stayed and helped during the rush at the hot chocolate counter."

"I think he likes you," Allie said.

"He likes someone, but I don't think it's me. He kinda mentioned her today." I spun around. "Speaking of kinda liking someone, this morning Aunt Sue told me that she was once in love."

Leah and Allie smiled as though I'd shared the secret of the century, their eyes huge. "Really? Who is he?"

"I don't know. She wouldn't say. She thought she was going to marry him."

"What happened?" Allie asked.

"I don't know. Like I said. She wouldn't say. She was her usual mysterious self."

"I'll bet there's a picture of him hanging somewhere in her store."

I stared at Allie. I hadn't thought of that. A lot of the photos had guys in them. "I'll bet you're right. I've looked at all of them, but not that closely."

"Tomorrow we'll have to go on a hunt through the shop, study all the photos, and see if we can figure out who he was," Leah said.

"I'll bet he was hot," Allie said. "He had to be hot."

"Maybe he was an artic explorer," Leah said.

"In which case he'd be cold," I said.

"Lame, Lucy!" Leah shouted.

We were still laughing when we stepped into the living room, ready to go.

And came up short.

Had my brother actually styled his hair? And what was this? A button-up shirt? Guess he was hoping to hook up with someone at the party as well. Whoever he ended up with would have my deepest sympathy.

"What's that stink?" I asked.

"It's some fancy aftershave," Matt said, jerking his head to the side.

That's when I noticed Kevin standing there, grimacing. I grimaced, too. I thought I'd been insulting Matt. Apparently another miscalculation on my part.

"Moves, By Adidas," Kevin mumbled.

"And we're all planning to make some moves tonight," Matt said. "Let's go."

"What about Brad? I asked.

"He already went to get Cyn. They'll meet us there."

I did my best to hide my disappointment, but since Brad had joined us for supper, I'd mistakenly thought he was back over playing with us. Why didn't he just move next door already?

We all grabbed our jackets and stuffed our bodies into them while heading out the door.

"Are you driving?" I asked Matt.

"Nope. I plan to do some drinking," Matt said.

"You're not old enough," I reminded him.

"Never stopped me before."

"Matt!"

He halted and glared at me. "What? You gonna tell Mom and Dad?"

Was I? No. But he didn't know that. Besides, as irritating as my brother was, he was good for one thing: blackmail. And it was payback time for the snowball he'd hit me with yesterday.

"Not if you make a contribution to the Lucy-have-a-good-time fund."

"Ah, Lucy, come on. I'm not hurting anyone. I'm a responsible drinker."

"How can you be responsible if you're breaking the law?"

"I don't drive when I drink. No one gets hurt except me, if I fall flat on my face."

"You get drunk?"

"I've got better things to do then discuss my life with you." He reached for his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "How much?"

"Twenty should do it."

"Five."

"Ten."

He held out the bill that had one of my favorite presidents on it. "You know, Lucy, no one likes a snitch."

I snatched it from his fingers, folded it up, and shoved it into the front pocket of my jeans.

"Payback's a bitch, Brother."

"What?"

"I wouldn't have tattled. But I didn't like getting hit with a snowball yesterday, either. So now we're even."

He snapped his fingers. "Give it back."

"Nope. Possession is nine-tenths of the law."

"You don't even know what that means."

"And I suppose you'd do."

"Hey, y'all, can we go?" Leah asked. "The cute guys are gonna be taken by the time we get there."

"No, they won't be," Matt said. "Because you'll be arriving with them."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, give us a break!"

Matt jerked open the door. "Let's go."

We filed past. He closed and locked the door, and we were on our way. Somehow Matt took the lead with Allie and Leah flanking him, leaving me and Kevin trudging along behind them.

I glanced over at Kevin. He was wearing a turtleneck sweater and a leather jacket. He didn't even have the jacket buttoned up. His hands were shoved in the front pockets of his jeans, and he was staring at the sidewalk like he expected it to disappear at any second and he wanted to be prepared. I think he'd styled his hair, too.

"Aren't you cold?" I asked.

"Nope."

Eyes straight ahead. Jaw clenched. I didn't think the tight muscles in his jaw were because of the cold. Although I could have been wrong.

"Your aftershave doesn't stink. I thought Matt was wearing it. I was just giving him a hard time. It actually smells good."

He smelled really good, as a matter of fact.

He sliced his gaze over to me. If I'd been a snowman, the heat in his eyes would have turned me into a puddle of melted snow.

"The bottle slipped and splashed too much on me. I didn't want to take time for another shower. If I'd known you and Matt were going to go at it for so long, I would have taken the time."

"Don't you and your sisters ever pester each other?"

"Sure, but you and Matt are at it constantly. You should cut the guy some slack."

"That works two ways you know."

"Yeah, I know. Your brother's not such a bed guy."

"You're just saying that because you're his friend."

"I guess. So since I tossed snow at you earlier, am I going to have to make a contribution to the Lucy-have-a-good-time fund?" He asked.

I angled my head haughtily. "You might. It'l cost you more, though, since you also tackled me to the ground."

"I'm strapped for cash. We might have to it out in trade."

"What kind of trade?"

He gave me a grin that made me think I was in deep trouble.

"We'll work something out. Maybe it'll end up being a good time for us both."


	11. Chapter 11

**Love on the Lifts- Chapter 11**

I really tried not to think about Kevin's comment on making a deposit in my good-time fund. I was supposed to be at a party enjoying myself, practicing my flirtation skills, getting Brad to notice me. But it seemed like I was spending most of my time trying not to think about Kevin or something he said or done.

If I wasn't thinking about his hazel eyes, or his smile, or the rich timbre of his voice, I was thinking about the way he moved around the hot chocolate counter helping costumers with that confident swagger, or the way he's landed on top of me, or…

The way he was totally ignoring me now that we were at the lodge.

He'd slipped away almost as soon as we'd arrived, getting lost in the crowd. Probably of to make moves on the girl he'd mentioned earlier. Of course, sooner or later, Kevin would have to return to my side. After all, I'd promised to dance with him.

"Hey! You made it!" Paige gave me a hug. Her blonde hair was clipped on the top of her head, tuffs of it sticking out here and there. "Isn't this the best party?"

"Absolutely!"

The lodge was shadowy, with a fire in the massive fireplace providing most of the light. A few candles burned, a few lamps in corners were turned on, but mostly it was shadows.

"The bar's over there, so help yourself."

"Thanks," I said.

"We've got music playing."

"Yeah, I can hear it."

"And dancing over there."

"You don't have to sell me on the party, Paige," I said.

She laughed. "Once a sales clerk, always a sales clerk." Her eyes brightened. "There's the hottie. I'll catch you later."

I watched her head toward Kevin, the welcoming smile he gave her, then the way they sauntered over to the dance floor. I wasn't sure why I felt this sudden twinge of loss. It wasn't like she was wrapping herself around Brad.

Brad…I needed to find Allie and Leah, then out my plan into action to draw brad away from Cynthia. Tonight I would be the magnet to his silver metal.

I wandered through the crowd. I knew most of the nontourists because I came here every winter break, so out paths often crossed. I'd served hot chocolate to many of the tourists. So there was a lot of greeting going on- hey, how are you, good to see you, great powder today- that kind of stuff. I tried not to get bogged down in conversation while I searched for my friends.

I saw Allie first…with Matt! And I thought I better go save her, especially when I saw him take her hand and lead her to the dance floor. But then I thought about what Leah said about having to play with the frogs to catch a prince. So maybe that's what Allie's doing.

Then I saw Leah with he oh so hot ski instructor. I mean: He was to die for! Tall and slender, he had blonde hair that fell to his shoulders. Wow! Good going, Leah!

At least one of us was on out way to finding love on this trip.

I wended my way among the people who were laughing and talking, until I reached the table where all sorts of wintry comfort foods had been laid out. I scooped some clam chowder in a bowl.

"That looks good," I heard Aunt Julie say from behind me.

I looked over my shoulder and smiled. "Want some?"

"Sure do."

I handed her my bowl and filled another for myself.

"Join me by the fire," she said.

At that moment there wasn't anywhere I'd rather be. I sat on a sofa beside Aunt Julie. It was toasty warm in front of the fire place. I lifted a spoonful of chowder, blew on it to cool it down, then slurped. Really good.

"Having fun?" she asked.

"Having a great time," I lied. "Got Matt to make a donation to the Lucy-have-a-good-time fund earlier."

"How did you manage that?" she asked.

"Fooled him into thinking I'd tell Dad he was drinking tonight." I peered over at her. "Don't suppose you would want to make a deposit, would you?"

"Lucy you know my philosophy on money."

"It can't buy happiness?'

"No. I work to hard for it to just simply give it away. When you have a goal in mind for it I'll see what I can do."

"But I don't have a goal. Have fun." "But you haven't figured out how to achieve that yet." "Sure I have." "No, you haven't. Or you wouldn't be sitting her with your old aunt."

"You're not old."

"Getting there."

"So tell me about this guy you almost married."

She laughed her boisterous laughter. "Ah, Lucy, why don't you tell me about the guy you're trying to hook up with?"

"I don't think he's here. Have you seen Brad or Cynthia?" "So, you haven't given up on him?" "Should I?" "You tell me." "You know you would make a lousy Dr. Phil." "Maybe because I think we should listen to our hearts and not other people's brains."

"He'd be with me if it wasn't for Cyn, I mumbled. "I just know it."

"Lucy you deserve a guy who'll be with you even if sin- and I'm spelling that S-I-N- is around."

I couldn't help but smile. "I was thinking she should spell her name exactly like that."

"Yeah, I heard you at the pizza place." "I think Kevin did, too." Then I remembered.

"We're going to a movie tomorrow night. Did you want to go with us?"

"You don't need a third wheel on your date."

"It's not a date. I asked him and he confirmed that it wasn't a date."

Shaking her head, she me a look that said she thought I was really out of it. "Lucy, you don't ask a guy if it's a date."

"Then how would I know?"

"You just know."

"Just know? I'm starting to hate those two words. Kevin uses them all the time." And here I was thinking about Kevin again.

"I really like Kevin. That was nice of him to stay and help out this afternoon," Aunt Julie said. "And speak of the devil."

With a bright smile, Kevin sat on the edge of the coffee table in front of us. I was pretty sure that he was here to make me pat the dance I owed him.

"How's the chowder?"

"Really tasty." I tapped the bottom of the bowl with my spoon. "But it's all gone. I might want to get some more. Want some?"

"No, thanks." He turned his attention to Julie. "How 'bout you Julie?"

"No more for me." She patted her stomach. "I'm watching my weight."

"Great wanna dance?"

Aunt Julie laughed. "Are you sure I'm the one you want to ask?"

"Absolutely."

With another laugh, Aunt Julie handed me her bowl, stood, and held out her hand. "Then let's go, Casanova."

I watched them walk towards the dance floor, and there was Brad and Cynthia. I hadn't been aware they'd arrived, but there was no missing them now. They were dancing so provocatively that I though they might get arrested for lewd behavior or something.

I turned back around, set the bowls on the table, and crossed my arms over my chest, trying to hold in the hurt. I had to let Brad go. Just had to.

If I wanted any chance at all of finding love while I was on winter break, I had to completely get over the guy.


	12. Chapter 12

**HI people! I know that I haven't updated this story in like….Forever! So, here it is! And yes I will keep updating my other stories, but for right now I'm on a major-writing block so I thought I would type up the chapters of this story and hope that it gets me out of this slump. And after this I will try to type up the already written 5****th**** chapter of TO LOVE YOU ONCE! Okay, so after this long drabble, here is the 12****th**** chapter of Love on the Lifts! **

**Love on the Lifts- Chapter 12**

A Brad-ectomy.

That's what I needed.

Without anyone noticing, I left the party and trudged home. After changing into some thick fleece warm-ups, I grabbed the quilt off my bed, made myself a mug of hot chocolate, and curled up in a chair on the redwood deck, the quilt wrapped around me, both hands around the mug, with a mist of steaming chocolate tickling my face.

Our condo looked out over nothing and everything. No houses before me, only trees and hills that grew into mountains. I hadn't turned on any lights, and the houses on either side of me didn't have any on Cynthia, I knew was still at the party. Maybe the other neighbors were as well. So it was really dark and quiet. The sky was black and cast, filled with a thousand stars. It was so peaceful and calm.

I breathed it all in: the warmth of chocolate, the scent of trees, the cold of snow. You wouldn't think the snow would have a smell, but it does. A pristine crispness in the air.

I took deep breath after deep breath, centering my being, occasionally sipping on chocolate. I started mentally listing all the reasons that I wanted Brad to notice me. The reasons I wanted him for a boyfriend.

_He was hot._

I tapped my fingernail against the porcelain mug. _Tap. Tap. Tap._

_He had a killer smile._

_He was nice._

_Tap._

_You don't know that for sure, Lucy, _a little voice echoed in my head. I mean, really, what had he done that was nice?

He never talked to me, not like Kevin did. He didn't hand around Aunt Julie's bookstore or ask me to go with him to a movie or throw snow at me. He didn't dance with my aunt.

Course, he wasn't dancing with Cynthia, either. What they were doing on the dance floor could hardly be classified as dancing. They'd just been holding each other close like they were trying to keep warm.

_Don't think about it, Lucy,_ I chastised myself.

Continuing with the Brad-ectomy, I focused on what I really and truly liked about him.

He was hot.

I tapped my mug, and sipped my chocolate, tapped my mug.

There had to be something else. I couldn't be this bummed out over a guy not noticing me if he was nothing more than good looks. I wasn't that shallow. Or at lest I didn't think I was.I heard a noise on the stairs and nearly dropped my hot chocolate in my lap.

"Hey, it's just me."

Kevin. My breathing slowed, but my heart was still thudding.

"I knocked on the front door"

"Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"Not a problem. I thought you were probably back here."

He came up onto the deck and sat in the chair beside mine.

"Why'd you think that?" I asked.

"No reason."

"You must have had a reason."

He shrugged. "Just seemed like the type of place I'd go if I was hurting."

"I'm not hurting," I snapped.

"It's okay, Lucy."

"I'm not hurting," I repeated, more irritated with him than imaginable. "I just did a Brad-ectomy, if you must know."

He chuckled. "A what?"

"I exorcised him. I have no further interest in him whatsoever."

"Really?"

"Yes, really." _Let's move on to another subject._

"Aren't you cold just wearing a leather jacket?"

"You asked me that earlier."

"So? I'm asking again. The later it gets, the colder it gets, so I thought maybe you're starting to get cold now."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get there. Don't suppose you'd share the blanket."

"Nope. I've got it all warm and cozy inside. Besides, there's no room for the two of us in this chair."

"You'd be surprised."

"Kevin, look, you're right. I came here because I wanted to be alone, to just think, so I'm not very good company right now. I don't want to share my blanket"

"How 'bout your hot chocolate?"

The guy sounded pathetic. I thought I could actually hear his teeth starting to clatter, and I could defiantly see his breath on the air. I rolled my eyes. "Sure."

He took my mug and took a swallow. "Just what I needed."

"You can go inside," I told him. "Turn on the fire, watch TV. You don't have to keep me company."

"I've got nothing else to do."

We sat there in comfortable silence for several minutes. Then I peered over at him. "You know Aunt Julie is too old for you."

He laughed a deep rumble that echoed over the deck. "I don't think she'll ever be old. She has so much energy and so many great stories. I could talk to her all night."

"So why didn't you?" I asked. Even though I really wasn't interested in him as boyfriend material, I think I still wanted him to say that he'd left because of me, because he'd noticed I was gone, because he wanted to be with me.. Selfish, I know, but there you have it.

"She got a little down after talking about Michael and left the party."

I sat up straighter. "Michael? Who's Michael?"

"The guy she almost married."

"She told you his name?"

He looked at me like I'd gone crazy. "Yeah. Why wouldn't she?"

"This morning was the first time I ever heard about him, and she wouldn't tell me anything." Aunt Julie and I were going to have to have a serious sit-down. "What did she tell you?"

He shrugged again. "Maybe she likes me."

"Did she tell you why she didn't marry him?"

"No, but she did say that his picture's hanging somewhere in her store.

I perked up a little more at that. "I'll break her down in the morning."

"Are you going to work at the shop again?"

"No, but I'll go see her before I head to the slopes. Maybe I can convince her to show me then."

"Maybe."

But he said it like he didn't think I would.

"She was just being her old mysterious self today," I told him. "She'll tell me everything tomorrow."

"If you say so." He stretched out his long legs. "The water in that hot tub sure looks inviting. Have you ever sat in it?"

"No, I'm only ever here in winter. It's too cold to use it then. I don't know why it's not drained. Can you imagine trying to get from the tub into the house while you're wet? You'd turn into a popsicle on the way."

"Might be worth giving it a try. Can you imagine what it would feel like if everything was warm except for you head."

"It would be weird."

"You think?"

I heard a high-pitched laugh, followed by deeper laughter. Suddenly the lights from Cynthia's condo poured onto her back deck, illuminating her and Brad as they stepped outside. She released an irritating squeal.

"Oh, it's cold!" she cried.

"Well, duh!" I muttered.

She was wearing a bathing suit. And Brad was…was he in his boxers?

She pranced across the deck, laughing all the way, until she slid into the hot tub. Brad followed her, raised up on his toes. "Ah, man!" he yelled, just before he got in the tub.

More laughter, giggling, then silence as they started kissing.

"Don't look at them," Kevin ordered.

"It's a little hard not to if I'm talking to you. They're right in my line of sight."

"Then close your eyes."

Instead I rolled them. "They don't bother me."

"Good. Because I've been thing about something for most of the night."

I focused on his face, trying really hard not to see past him to where Brad and Cynthia were acting like kids. Yeah, that was it. Kids. Totally immature. Laughing, kissing…

"What were you thinking?" I asked.

"Thought I'd make a deposit into the Lucy-have-a-good-time fund."

I laughed lightly, appreciating that he was trying to make me feel better. "How much? Five? Ten?"

He shook his head. "Ah, Luce. Ike I told you earlier, I'm strapped for cash. I'm talking trade."

He put his hand on the back of my neck, and I had this crazy thought that his fingers should have felt like ice, but they didn't. They were warm.

He pulled me toward him as he leaned nearer, then his lips were on mine and I wasn't thinking at all.


	13. Chapter 13

**Love on the Lifts-Chapter 13**

**I absolutely need reviews!!! Please. I really want to know what you think of this story!! I bet you really liked the end of the last chapter, right? Well, here's the next chapter that I hope you love even more!!**

There are some things in life that you simply expect.

Like when it snows, you'll get cold, and when you're at the beach, you'll get wet and sandy. You expect to get gifts of Christmas and presents for your birthday. You expect the sun to come up in the morning and the moon to come out at night. You expect your brother to get on your nerves and your best friends to stick up for you.

You expect life to throw some disappointments at you. You hope it'll throw a few surprises your way.

Kevin's kiss was a surprise. Totally, absolutely.

Not so much that he was kissing me. I think in the furthest, farthest corner of my mind, I suspected that he might really like me. That I was the girl he was interested in, the one he'd asked to the movies, even though he'd said it wasn't a date.

So the fact that he was kissing me wasn't that much of a surprise.

What was a surprise was how very good he was at it. At moving his mouth over mine until I wasn't thinking about anything or anyone. I'd been kissed before. I wasn't a complete novice at dating, but Kevin took kissing to a whole new level. It was hot and intense, and I imagined the snow around us was probably melting.

And that was fine with me, because I was melting, too, melting right into his arms.

Through the passionate haze, I heard distant voices not Brad and Cynthia and a door slam shut.

Kevin must have heard it, too, because he pulled back. All I could do was stare at his shadowy face and wonder what he was thinking. If the kiss had been as overwhelming for him as it was for me.

Light suddenly surrounded us as someone inside hit a switch in the living room, and I was vaguely aware of the back door being slid open.

"Hey, what are you guys doing out here?" Leah asked.

"Counting stars." Kevin said.

I was certainly seeing stars. I was downright dizzy. And breathless. My lips were tingling.

"Is the party over?" I asked, stupidly.

"Yeah." Leah stepped out onto the deck and gazed off in the direction of Cynthia's condo. "Are they in the hot tub?"

"Yeah."

"That's insane. It's freezing out here."

No, it wasn't. I was quite warm, as a matter of fact.

"Kevin was thinking about getting in ours," I said, inanely, anything to deflect attention away from the fact that I might be swaying.

Leah stared at Kevin. "Are you nuts?"

"Thought it might be interesting."

How could he sound so normal? Like the kiss hasn't affected him at all? Maybe it hasn't. Maybe, like my crush on Brad, it was all one-sided.

"What might be interesting? Matt said, as he and Allie stepped outside.

"Kevin was thinking about getting in the hot tub," Leah said.

"Hey, I'm game if everyone else is," Matt said.

"I didn't bring a bathing suit," I said.

"So? Underwear works just as well."

Like I wanted my brother to see me in my undies. Or that I wanted to see him for that matter."

"It's too cold," I said.

"Ah, Lucy, you're no fun."

We heard laughter coming from Cynthia's back deck.

Matt looked across the way. "Now, Cyn, she's fun. I bet she never sits of the deck bundled up in a quilt."

Disgusted with my brother, I got up, the quilt still draped around me, my legs shaky. How could they be shaky when I'd been sitting?

"I'm going to bed," I announced.

"You know, Matt, you can be a real jerk sometimes," I heard Kevin say once I was inside.

I was halfway across the living room before Allie caught up with me. "Why didn't you tell us you were leaving the party?" We spent half an hour looking for you."

"I didn't get a chance to introduce you to Ian. I really wanted you to meet him," Leah said, coming up to stand beside Allie.

I shrugged. "I just needed to get away for a while."

"You must have seen Brad and Cynthia dancing," Leah said.

"Yeah."

The guys were coming in, too, and I so didn't want my brother to hear any of this.

"I'm going to bed," I repeated. I leaned closer to my best friends. "And Operation Hook- Brad- Up – With- Lucy?" Holding the quilt close with one hand, I sliced the other through the air. "It officially ended tonight."

"Are you sure?" Leah asked. "Because I think"

"I'm sure."

"We'll find you a ski instructor tomorrow," she promised.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kevin standing there, watching me, listening.

"Definitely," I said. "Tomorrow Operation Ski Instructor for Lucy begins. 'Night"

I walked to my bedroom and closed the door. Getting ready for bed I could hear the TV on in the living room, and whispered goodnights.

When I finally crawled into bed, I lay there staring at the ceiling, thinking about Kevin's kiss. Something for Lucy- have- a- good- time fund.

Lucy had definitely had a good time. So good, in fact, that I was slightly terrified. After my experiences with Brad, I wasn't sure I could trust my judgment when it came to guys. But I did know one thing.

Kevin was just as I'd surmised earlier: dangerous.

"So why would you tell Kevin your boyfriend's name and not me?"

Aunt Julie was standing behind her counter at the shop, her morning mug of hot chocolate in one hand, _The Daily Tribune_ spread before her. Over her reading glasses, she peered at me like I should have known the answer to the question.

"Gave you something to talk about, didn't it?"

"You told Kevin and not me so we'd have something to talk about?"

"That wasn't the original plan, but it just came to me last night at the party."

"So you're playing matchmaker now?"

She smiled mischievously. "No, Lucy. I simply gave you something to talk about."

"You know, we do okay on our own."

Boy was the ever an understatement.

"That's good." She went back to reading about the specials at the U-Sack-'Em.

"Did Kevin happen to mention me when you were dancing?"

"Nope."

I tried not to acknowledge the disappointment by sipping on my own hot chocolate. I guess she took pity on me, because she said, "He talked about you after we danced."

"What did he say?"

"That's between me and him."

"When did you get to be so contrary? You used to tell me everything. And now I find out that you were in lover with some guy and you're playing matchmaker and you're keeping conversations secret. You're no fun anymore."

"Because I'm getting older."

The thing I'd learned about older people was that they really not longer cared about impressing others. It made it difficult to bait them or to get your way with them.

"You're not getting old. Kevin says you'll never get old."

"Yeah, well, that's because he's young." She looked back at the as. "There's a special on steaks. Maybe I'll pick some up and cook a meal for all of you."

"We're going to a move tonight. Remember? Everyone's going. Like I told you last night, it's not a date, so you can come, too."

"I've seen it. I'll have you over for steaks tomorrow."

"Okay. But no matchmaking."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

But the look in her eyes said she was planning to do exactly that.

By the time I got back to the condo, Matt had his car warming up and everyone was clambering inside. Fortunately, I was already dressed for the slopes. So I slid into the backseat beside Leah, trying really hard not to look at Kevin, who was sitting beside her.

We actually hadn't talked since he'd, and his deposit in the Lucy- have- a- good- time fund, and so I wasn't feeling exactly comfortable around him. I mean, what do you say to a guy who's delivered a kiss as smoothly as he had? A kiss you know you'd never forget?

Especially if you were wondering if it meant anything.

Allie was in the front passenger seat beside Matt. Matt put the car into gear.

"Aren't we waiting for Brad?" I asked.

"Cynthia, bless her heart, has the sniffles," Leah said.

"And Brad is staying with her today," Allie said.

I suppose I should have admired him for that, but for some reason, he didn't strike me as a heating- up- chicken- soup kinda guy.

"OH," was all I said, like his spending the day with Cynthia absolutely didn't faze me at all. Then I magnanimously added, "Sorry to hear she's not feeling well."

"I guess Operation"

"Let's not discuss it right now," I said, cutting off Leah and giving her a hard glare.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"Who's having an operation?" Matt asked, looking at me in the rearview mirror as he drove up the road.

"Matt, she wasn't talking to you," I said.

"Someone's snappish this morning," he said.

"I'm not snappish."

"PMS?"

I grounded my teeth together. Where was a snowball when I needed one? I settled back against my seat, folded my arms across my chest, a glared out the window, refusing to address his asinine comment.

"That's so chauvinistic," Leah said.

"Hey, I lived with her for seventeen years. I know the signs."

"Apparently you don't," I grounded out.

"Whatever," Matt said.

"How was your visit with Julie this morning?" Kevin asked, leaning forward, his breath skimming the back of my neck.

With my cap pulled down over my head and my jacket zipped up tightly, I was surprised I had any exposed neck at all. But whatever I had, his warm breath found, sending shivers along my spine.

I glanced back at him He was wearing a deep- blue ski jacket, so his eyes were almost blue. Amazing.

"Obstinate. She wouldn't show me which picture had Michael in it, so maybe we can stop by the shop before we hit the movie and take a look around."

"Who's Michael?" Leah asked.

"The guy I told you about yesterday. The one she almost married. She told Kevin his name."

So we're one step closer to solving the mystery."

"What mystery?" Matt asked.

"When did you get so nosy?"

"Hey, you're talking about my favorite aunt here."

"She's your only aunt."

He chuckled. "Come on, Luce. What's up?"

Before I could say anything else, Allie told him the entire story.

"Huh, I wonder why she didn't marry him." Matt said when Allie finished.

"She won't say," I said.

"Well, Lucy, I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it," Matt said. "You're her favorite niece, after all."

"At least I'm someone's favorite," I grumbled.

"You're my favorite sister."

I snorted. "Gosh, I'd hate to be your unfavorite. I might not survive."

"Hey, Luce, you know I'm just teasing when I give you a hard time."

"Yeah, right, and the teasing just keeps me laughing."

**I hope you liked this chapter! I know you want to review so all you have to do is just press that shiny blue button! Hopefully the next chapter will be added soon, but only if I get some reviews!!!**


	14. Chapter 14

Love On the Lifts- Chapter 14

**Love On the Lifts- Chapter 14**

**First I would like to apologize for not updating sooner and that from now on I should be updating my stories more frequently. But I have a trip with my family from Wednesday to Saturday but I will try to update on Saturday night! With that small note…enjoy the story!**

"I have to head to class," Leah said brightly. She wiggled her gloved fingers at us. "I'll catch you guys later."

"What's his name again?" I asked.

"Ian. I'll try to introduce you later."

She walked away from us, a definite bounce in her step.

"I'll catch up with you later, too," Allie said.

"Matt is going to take me on another ski life practice run, only this time I'm going to try skiing down one of the easier slopes."

"I can take you on the ski life," I said, sounding almost desperate in my eagerness not to be left behind.

"That's okay. Matt's going that way anyway, and you should probably do a few runs on the bunny slope, just to warn up since you missed yesterday."

Before I could announce that I didn't need to warn up, she and Matt were trudging through the snow, heads bent toward each other, talking. Talking.

Geez, it seemed like every time I looked at them, they were talking. I'd never known my brother to work his jaw so much. He was more of a cut-a-wisecrack-and-run-for-cover kind of guy.

I was sorta feeling like running myself, since I was now alone standing beside Kevin.

"Well," I said, clapping my gloved hands together, wondering where we went from here.

"Look, Lucy, about that kiss last night…it was just a kiss. Nothing to get bent out of shape about."

He and I defiantly had a different definition of the word _just_.

Just a kiss was your grandmother pecking your cheek or your nervous prom date pressing his lips to yours so quickly that you weren't ever sure they'd actually touched.

Kevin's kiss had been anything except _just_. It had left absolutely no doubt in my mind that our lips were touching and he wasn't nervous. Nope, he'd been totally in control.

"I'm not bent." Okay I was a little, but not so much because he kissed me, but because he didn't seem to be of a mind to kiss me again. "Consider it forgotten," I added, although I knew I wouldn't ever forget it.

"So were back to being friends?"

How was I supposed to answer that? I'd just met the guy. He was Matt's friend…and well, I guess he was becoming mine. "Sure."

"Then you want to buddy-up for the slopes?"

It would have been rude to say no when we were the only two remaining who hadn't buddied up with someone. Besides, it wasn't like he was an irritant like Matt.

I actually enjoyed talking with him. And we won't even go into how I felt about kissing him.

So I smiled at him and said, "Let's go!"

In order to provide support for the ankles, ski boots are pretty sturdy, with very little give, which makes walking in them difficult. So as son as we got away from the arrival area, we snapped on our skis and headed for the bunny slope.

"I really don't need this practice session," I said. "Skiing is like riding a bicycle. Once you've mastered it, you never forget it."

"Yeah, but it's a good idea to warm you a little before you head for more advanced slopes. Start the adrenaline rushing, the muscles primed and loosened up."

I was peering at him through my tinted snow goggles. When the snow is pristine white and the sun hits it just right, it can be almost blinding. I'd had more than my share of headaches from not protecting my eyes from that light.

We trudged up to the top of one of the bunny slopes there was short line of people waiting their turn to go down it. On another slope, I could see Leah with Ian. Alone.

"Wonder where the rest of the class is?" I mused.

"Actually, he mentioned at the party last night that today was his day off," Kevin said.

Which I might have known if I'd hung around the lodge and been a little friendlier with everyone.

I looked over at Kevin. "Oh? Is he giving her private lessons?"

He grinned. "I think so. But the lessons may have started last night. They were pretty together at the party."

"Yeah, I saw them. I just didn't realize…" I shook my head. "Doesn't matter. I'm happy for her."

And I was. I really was. I wanted my friends to find love. I wanted them to have an unforgettable time on the slopes.

I was actually beginning to wish that I hadn't spent my first couple of days here mooning over Brad. If I'd been here yesterday, I might have found myself with a guy today.

Even as I thought it, I realized I was with a guy. A fun guy. A nice guy. A hot guy.

While I'd been busy watching Leah, the girl in line behind us started talking to Kevin. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but they were both smiling. I felt my stomach lurch with the realization that I might lose him, too.

Kevin turned back to me, his smile still in place. "Someone you know?" I asked, pleased that my voice sounded pleasantly interested.

"Not before five minutes ago.

I decided to me magnanimous. "if you want to hang out with her"

"I don't." He nodded. "You're up."

"Up what?:

His grin grew. "Your turn on the slope."

I laughed. "Oh, right. Did you want to go first?"

"Sure."

He got into position, adjusting his goggles, put the tips of his poles into the snow, and shoved off.

He arrived at the bottom of the bunny slope before I even took a breath. Okay. He really did know how to ski. He was standing down there looking up at me. And my nerves were rattled. It had been a year since I'd done this.

The bunny slope was nothing more than a small mound of snow, a starting point for learning the basics. No big deal. I could do this.

I took a deep breath, put my poles into position on the snow, bent my knees, shoved off

Moving fast with nothing around you is an awesome experience. Even on the bunny slope. The air was cold and whistled by my ears, rushed over my face. There is always a thrill, no matter how many times I ski down a slope.

A pitting of my balance and my skills against nature.

Heavy thoughts. But I loved the sensations. The sense of accomplishment.

At the bottom of the slope, I turned my feet so my skis angled slightly, slowing me to a stop in front of Kevin. He was grinning.

"You're good."

His praise pleased me more than I thought possible, and I tried not to let it go to my head. It probably had something to do with the battering I'd taken from Brad, even though he hadn't meant to batter me. I was just so not on Brad's radar that he hurt me without meaning to.

"Not as good as you," I said, wanting to return the compliment.

"Don't kid yourself. I had yesterday to practice. Now, let's go have some fun."

And we did have fun. We started on the easier slopes, which like the bunny slopes meant we trudged up to the summit, then skied down. Unlike the bunny slope, I didn't have to wait for the person in front of me to reach the bottom. I just let them get started…or not. It depended the width of the trail that I was skiing down. It was always the responsibility of the person behind not to hit the person in front. Just like driving a car.

Only it wasn't always quite as easy to guide your speed. And you had to call out if you were rapidly approaching someone, so they'd know not to swerve over in front of you.

And swoosh!

Past them you'd go.

Sometimes you can ever race.

Which is what Kevin and I started doing after a while. It was amazingly frustrating, because he was really good and he took the competition seriously. Weaving in and out among a random tree or over a lump of snow that he didn't like the looks of.

I wasn't bad, myself, but I certainly wasn't as good as he was. No matter what he said or how often he complimented my skills.

"Ready to try something a bit more challenging?" he asked, after we'd been at it a couple of hours.

I grinned broadly. "Like Devil's Peak?"

It was the tallest slope that you could reach using the ski lifts. There was actually a cable car that went up the deepest slope, to the highest peak. But the skiing up there was for the really experienced skiers.

"I'm game if you are," I said.

We headed for the lifts that would take us to the top of Devil's Peak. The chairs on the ski lifts move constantly. We stepped onto the loading platforms, just the two of us. A chair swung around and we sat on it while it kept moving forward. There's always this little jerky motion that makes me feel like I might topple out if it.

But somehow I always mange to stay on.

Our skis were on, our feet dangling. I held onto my poles with one hand, onto the ski lift chair with the other.

"I love riding the ski lift," I said.

"Yeah, me, too."

"You can see so much." The ground moving farther and farther away as you went higher and higher toward the summit.

I glanced around at everything surrounding us, the snow-packed trail, the line of trees that ran up either side of the slope, the skiers skiing down, people walking at the edge of the trees, people standing…

I leaned forward slightly. I'd recognize the pick coat with the furry collar and cuffs anywhere. "That's Allie," I said stunned.

"Looks like," Kevin said, his voice contained no real surprise, and I wondered exactly what I'd missed out on yesterday. Because she was standing at the edge of the trees, and she wasn't alone. She was with Matt.

Caught in a lip-lock that I thought might require the expertise of the mountain rescue team to break apart.

"I can't believe you were kissing my brother."

Leah, Allie, and I were in my bedroom. It had been difficult, but I'd held my silence on the drive back to the condo. As soon as we got inside, I'd told them that we needed to have a serious talk. So we were all still bundled up and pretty cold. But this conversation couldn't wait.

Allie's cheeks had turned as pink as her jacket. "I can't believe you can't believe it."

"My brother," I said with emphasis, in case the snow had blinded her and she hadn't realized exactly who she's been standing there with. "I don't understand how you could kiss him! I mean, he's…he's"

"Totally hot," Leah interjected.

"Please! He is so not hot!"

"Oh, he's hot," Leah insisted. "You just don't see it because he's you brother. But he is defiantly a hottie."

Dropping down on the edge of my bed, I stared at her, then stared at Allie. "You think he's hot?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "I can't believe you're this surprised. I've had a crush on him forever."

Surprised? I was stunned. "Define forever."

"Since I was a junior."

I remembered how she'd offered to share her bedroom with him that first night…how breathless she sounded, and I'd stupidly thought it was because she was cold. I wanted to bang my head against the wall to knock some sense into myself.

"Oh my gosh. You really like him?'

She bobbed her head. "A lot."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you think he's a jerk. But he's not. I know he gives you a hard time, but that's just what brother's are supposed to do."

"How would you know? You don't have any."

She sat on the bed beside me. "He's funny, Luce. He makes me smile, and he had so much patience teaching me how to ski. And his kisses"

I threw up a hand. "I don't want to hear any details about the fame of tonsil hockey you were playing with him."

I looked at Leah. "Did you know they liked each other?"

She smiled. "I suspected she liked him, but I knew Matt liked her. He almost knocked me down to get to the chair across from her and Pile It On Pizza."

"You're kidding? I thought you manipulated the seating arrangement."

"Nope. And he wouldn't let anyone else ride shotgun going or coming from the slopes yesterday or today. Front passenger seat might as well have Allie's name carved on it in gold. And they sat out in the hallway downstairs talking for most of the night."

"About what?"

Allie shrugged. "Anything and everything. We have a lot in common and he's so interesting."

Interesting? Matt?

I tore off my knitted cap and my hair tumbled around my shoulders, flying around in static-electrical wisps. "Brad said that Matt talked about me and Allie on the drive up here. I couldn't figure out why."

"He's liked me for a while, too," Allie said, wearing a dreamy smile.

This was incredible to believe. How anyone, especially my best friend, could think of my brother as boyfriend material was beyond my comprehension. My brother! Clueless Matt!

"Lucy seems to be speechless," Leah said.

"That's an understatement," I murmured.

"Try to see him from my perspective. He's totally"

I held up my hand again. "Spare me, please. I will only ever look at Matt like he's my irritating brother." Because that was exactly how he'd always be to me. I would certainly never contemplate him as hit. That was too gross!

I glanced over at Allie. "You'll always be my best friend though. Even if I question your sanity."

She grinned. "So we're all going to the movie together tonight, right?"

"Not me," Leah said. "I'm meeting Ian at the Avalanche."

The Avalanche was a little of everything: a sports bar with live entertainment.

"Sounds like you're serious about this guy," I said.

"I'm getting there."

"Which leaves me with no one," I said. A total downer.

"Looks like you had someone last night…on the deck," Leah said. "Or was it just an optical illusion that made it look like you were kissing Kevin?"

I felt the heat rush to my face. I wasn't cold anymore.

"I wasn't kissing him. He was kissing me, but he said it's no big deal."

"Yeah, sure. It certainly looked like a big deal."

"I don't even know how you could see us. We were in the dark."

"You we a shadowy silhouette. Trust me, we saw."

Which meant Matt saw, too. I couldn't believe he hadn't said anything. Probably because it would have embarrassed his friend. Not because he wanted to spare me any mortification. Matt didn't work that way. At least not where I was concerned.

Not wanting to follow this trail of conversation any further, I stood up and unzipped my jacket. "I need to get ready for the movie."

"Your big date?" Leah said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"No, we're just friends."

"I don't kiss my friends."

"Will you let it go?" I asked. "He knows how I feel about Brad. He's not making any moves on me."

"If you say so."

Honestly, my friends were becoming as irritating as my brother.

"I like him better than Brad," Allie said.

"It doesn't matter," I said. I made a little waving motion with my hands. "Now, go, so we can all get ready."

Once they left, I dropped back down onto the edge of my bed, stared at the floor between my snow boots.

Having everyone witness my failure with Brad hadn't been fun. Even though I trusted Allie and Leah with everything…I wasn't quite ready to admit that maybe I was falling for Kevin…just a little.

Brad was a player. For all I knew, Kevin was, too.

I mean, really, why had he kissed me?

How did a girl know when she could trust a guy not to break her heart?

**So that was the 14****th**** chapter. I'll try to add the 15****th**** tomorrow…PLEASE REVIEW! I'd love to hear you comments!**


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